


Forgetting Normalcy

by MaybeMyth



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Amnesia AU, Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jasico - Freeform, Kinda, M/M, Memory Loss, Past Relationship(s), Rebuilding, Slow Burn, falling in love a second time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-10 01:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 52,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13494032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaybeMyth/pseuds/MaybeMyth
Summary: Nico Di Angelo has been through a lot. That much is clear. In his twenty years of life, he’s already experienced a lot more than most people should.  By the time he turned eighteen years old, Nico had experienced love, and loss and heartbreak several times over.Nico and Jason were happily dating and in love, but after a bad car-crash, Jason loses his memory, and his whole life.





	1. Chapter 1

Nico Di Angelo has been through a lot. That much is clear. In his twenty years of life, he’s already experienced a lot more than most people should.  

At the age of Nine, Nico was pulled from his home in Italy and rushed to live in the United States with his Mother and his older sister Bianca. Only a couple months later had a natural disaster struck the hotel his family was living in. Nico and Bianca miraculously survived, mostly unscathed, but it took hours to pull their mothers body from the rubble.

The two Di Angelo’s lived in a foster home for another long few months before their father claimed them, and just as soon as he found them, he sent them away to a private school. For years after, Nico was trapped in that school, scared, and confused with only Bianca, who was just as terrified and lost as he was, to guide him.

 At the age of twelve Nico learned who his father really was. He learned that his father was a cold, and cruel man. A Judge who held people’s lives in his hands, and never bothered to blink when sending someone away. A man with an endless list of enemies. One of those enemies went a little extreme in their thirst for revenge, and sought out Nico and Bianca, hoping to send their lifeless bodies back to their father in the name of vengeance. The only reason the children survived was because of a group of campers. A team of kids, not much older than the Di Angelo’s themselves, had stepped in, and put an end to the villain. Nico had always read about Hero’s in books and comics, and in that moment, he had one right in front of him.

 On that day, Nico had his very own Hero. One Perseus Jackson, and at the age of twelve, Nico thought he understood love. Bianca and Nico convinced their father to let them attend a normal school in New York to be closer to their new friends, and closer did they grow.

 At the age of thirteen, Nico begged Bianca not to leave him alone for the weekend as she went on a camping trip with them. Nico had never been alone before, Bianca had always been with him. That’s why he wanted her to stay, and that’s why she wanted to go. Nico made Percy promise to look out for her, make sure she got home safely. Percy laughed it off, but agreed. It was only supposed to be two days. A fun weekend trip, but a weekend turned into a week, and a week turned into a month, then a month turned into years. Percy didn’t keep his promise, and Bianca never came home.

 At the age of thirteen, Nico ran away. He lived on the streets, fought for himself, and built numerous walls around him. On the streets, Nico heard and saw a lot of things that a child should never have to experience. It twisted his soul in indescribable ways. After months of living like that, he ran into Percy by complete chance, and when Percy tried to reach out to him and touch him, Nico didn’t have the best reaction. He lashed out at Percy, quite literally, with a shard of broken glass. The betrayal in Percy’s eyes that day was heartbreaking.

At the age of fourteen, Nico started working for his father, and was forced to go back to school. Percy refused to look Nico in the eye; the gesture was mutual. They avoided one another like the plague. They went on like this for years; not speaking to or even looking at each other. It hurt both of them more then they’d care to admit.

At the age of fifteen, Nico found out he had another sister, and he suddenly had a little light back in his life. Hazel Lévesque popped up on his door step one morning with nothing more than a birth certificate and tears in her eyes. Nico did not hesitate to take her in. Within hours of meeting her, Nico decided that he was determined to keep his new baby sister safe, and happy. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t replace Bianca, but Hazel was his sister regardless. He loves her for her, and with each passing moment of getting to know her, he simply grew to love her more.

 Months later, right when he was starting to feel happy again, Nico was kidnapped by another one of his father’s enemies. After being held for ransom for several days, Nico was found barely breathing by none-other than Percy Jackson himself, and his friends. Apparently, Nico was all over the news. When he realized it was his Hero, his crush, his first love, who had saved him, Nico had felt over joyed. Then he quickly learned the truth. Hazel had started a volunteer search party in her group of friends, a few of who actually didn’t want to participate. He had learned that Percy didn’t know if he should look for Nico. The news hurt him almost as much as the day he opened his front door to find a teary-eyed Percy holding Bianca’s hat and a small figurine.

On his first day back to school, Nico was already being picked on again. It didn’t last very long, as someone had taken it upon themselves to step in, and become Nico’s personal body guard.

Jason Grace, a student a year above him and with the school popularity equivalent to that of a movie star, had decided to become Nico’s guardian angel. Jason was tall, and fit, and fairly intimidating. With short blonde hair, and sky-blue eyes, and the thinnest trace of a scar on the corner of his lips. He looked like a superhero from one of Nico’s comics. Jason was very calm, and regal; very leader like. He volunteered to look after Nico, which meant he followed the younger boy around like a lost puppy.

Nico was very hesitant to let Jason into his life at first. It took a month or two, and a few tests to see if he could trust the golden boy, but after that, the two were inseparable. They quickly became best friends. No one really understood it, not even Nico himself understood Jason’s fascination with him, but he wasn’t complaining. They did everything together. They went to school together, they walked to class together, they ate lunch together, they walked home together, they studied together, and they spent their free time together. They became two halves of a whole, two peas in a pod. Nico let down all his walls for Jason. After a while into their friendship, Nico let Jason know everything, in bits and pieces, of course, not all at once. Nico trusted Jason enough to let him know everything about him, all the dark, shadowed pieces of his past. He also let his friend see all the parts of him that weren’t jaded yet, the little things about him that were still light and innocent. Jason devoured any and all information Nico would share with him, as if it was his life mission to know every inch of Nico’s existence.

It wasn’t one sided though. Jason trusted Nico just as much. He let Nico go far beyond the façade he held up at school. You could imagine Nico’s surprise when he learned that cool and sophisticated Jason Grace was actually a massive dork. Jason was literally the biggest nerd Nico had ever met, and he wasn’t as graceful as everyone made him sound. He was astonishingly clumsy and awkward. He wasn’t the ‘Golden Boy’ that he was painted to be. At least, he didn’t want to be. Jason truthfully hated the pedestal he had spent his entire life standing on. Exploring every part of Jason’s personality was truly fascinating to Nico. When he looks back on it now, he knows there was absolutely no way he couldn’t have fallen in love. Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one that had their feelings extend beyond friendship.

Just after Nico turned sixteen, Jason confessed his crush. Apparently the two had been dancing around each other for quite some time, not knowing how to express their feelings to the other. Both of them had thought there was no way in hell the other would be interested, and they both kept using the ‘only friends’ excuse to explain anything that was clearly above just friends.

 They dated for a long time. They were incredibly happy together; the epitome of romance. Jason was sweet, caring, and supportive. He doted on Nico, and loved him like there was no tomorrow. Nico encouraged Jason, reminded him that it was okay to be himself, okay not to be in the spot light. He made Jason a better person. Nico loved Jason like there was nothing else in the world. They were each other’s first real everything, and if they were inseparable as friends, they were practically superglued to the hip as a couple. There was never one without the other. They were like that for a year, they were happy together for a whole year.

The summer after Jason graduated, and the summer before Nico’s senior year in high school, Jason got in a bad car crash. Nico had no idea. He heard about it in the news the morning after. Nico tried calling Jason, No answer. He tried calling his family, but all his calls were ignored. The hospital wouldn’t give him any information. He went to the Grace house hold, and it was empty. They had moved out. By the age of seventeen the love of Nico’s life had vanished without a trace. He looked for him for months, but it was to no avail.

 By the time he turned eighteen years old, Nico had experienced love, and loss and heartbreak several times over. In the time of Jason’s absence, Nico had shut himself off from the world, not knowing if his boyfriend was alive or not, Nico rebuilt all his walls. When Nico graduated he decided to take time to himself, to adjust and to work for his father and go to a community college in his spare time.

 When he’s nineteen, he tries to get back into the world, and fails miserably. Everything reminded Nico of his love, and no matter who entered Nico’s life, he just couldn’t forget Jason. Everything hurt. Nico’s health quickly spiraled downward, and he started going to therapy.

 Now, Nico is twenty years old, and in his first year at an actual college. He’s finally somewhat adjusted to life, finally seeing some light in the dark. Nico is finally starting to believe he isn’t as cursed as he originally thought. That doesn’t last long. He’s on his way to class one day, in early October, when he accidently bumps into someone:

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Nico doesn’t bother to see who he ran into, and only cares about collecting his things off the ground, but his whole body freezes up when he hears that voice. “I really need to start paying attention to where I am going! In my defense, though, I forgot to put in my contacts this morning, and I can’t really see anyway” The nervous voice continues on. Nico still can’t move. He wants to. He wants to run away. He wants to scream, wants to cry, wants to say something; but he can’t. He can’t do anything but stare at the ground, eyes wide and body rigid. Because he knows that voice. That voice used to tell him awful jokes to make him laugh, and whisper sweet words to him to calm him down from nightmares. That voice used to tell him ‘I love you’

“Hey? You okay?” The voice repeats, and suddenly there’s a warm hand on his shoulder, and Nico’s heart all but leaps out his chest. The jolt of electricity that surges through his body is unmistakable, and when he manages to glance up, and finds concerned eyes the color of the sky staring directly into his own dark eyes, he chokes.

_Jason?_


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you okay?” The voice asks again, soft blue eyes sparkling with concern. That is a look Nico hasn’t seen in a long time. His stomach begins to twitch.

“I uh, I’m fine” Nico manages to spit out a few words. He watches helplessly as Jason collects the rest of Nicos stuff off the ground, and stands up.

“Good, for a second there I thought I bumped into you a little too hard” He lets out a small, awkward laugh. Nico wants to cry at the sound. Hearing Jason laugh always used to make him happy, right now, it just hurt. Nico doesn’t want to believe the sight he’s seeing in front of him. Doesn’t think he’s real. He _can’t_ be real. After searching forever, after years of heart ache, here he is; right in front of Nico, as casual as ever. Nico doesn’t understand. He stands up, and quickly takes his things from the guys hands.

“I am Jason, by the way, Jason Grace. Again, I’m really sorry for bumping into you like that,” but it is real. It is Jason. It looks like him. He talks and acts like him. He’s even saying it himself. The introduction has Nico swaying where he stands. Not only was the introduction extremely similar to when they first met, but it was an introduction. Introductions are for strangers; people you have never met before. Not for someone you had been in love with and had dated for a year.

“Nico,” He didn’t know what to say. Part of him wanted to say, ‘I know’, part of him wanted to toss himself into Jason’s arms, pull him close and never let him go again. He wants to think he finally has him back after all these years, but that’s clearly not the case. He settles for doing the same thing he did the first time they met, and just mumbles out his own name in return.

“Nice to meet you, Nico. Are you headed to class right now? What building are you in? I could walk you there?” Jasons voice is so sweet and caring, as usual, but Nico can’t seem to focus on it. _Nice to meet you._ The words pound in Nicos mind over and over again like an alarm. Jason has no idea who he is. Jason doesn’t remember him. Nico can feel his heart breaking all over again. He thinks it must be a joke. Some kind of cruel prank. He’s waiting for someone to pop out with a camera and shout ‘Gotch’ya!’, or for Jason to break character. He knows that won’t happen, he knows no one in his life would be so evil as to pull a joke like that, and he knows Jason would never participate in such a cold prank. He knows this is real. He knows this actually is Jason, right in front of him, but he also knows it would be so much easier if it wasn’t.

“Jason, come on, we’re going to be late!” A voice suddenly interrupts, before Nico can make any kind of decision or even think about Jason’s offer. Both boys look up to see a girl about the same age as them walking in their direction. She’s beautiful, with perfectly tan skin, and choppy brown hair with one thin braid traveling down the side. Her eyes reflected the light in an array of colors. Light pink lips pulled into a bright smile as her eyes locked with Jason. Jason gave a wide grin in response. Looking between the two, Nico suddenly realized something, and his stomach dropped. _No. No, No, No. This can’t be happening._

“Im sorry, I have to go,” Nico croaked, just as the girl reached Jason, and gently placed a hand on his arm.

“Wait” Jason tries to call out to Nico, but it’s too late. The younger boy is already rushing as far away from the scene, clutching his binder and books as tightly to his chest as he can.

“Nico!” Jason calls out to him again, and just the sound of Nico’s name coming from Jason’s voice is enough to make him hesitate. It’s hard enough already. Nico wants to cry. He wants to launch himself at Jason and hold him, but he can’t. Hearing his name on Jason’s tongue makes him rethink the decision to walk away, but when he hears foot steps behind him, he jolts back to life and takes off again.

 

 

 _I can’t deal with class. Not today, not like this._ Nico runs to the Library, knowing that at this time of day, that’s where at least most of his friends will be, and he’s right. He finds Percy, and his girlfriend Annabeth upstairs in the furthest corner of the library, along with his friend Reyna and Hazels boyfriend Frank. Annabeth is spread out on the little cushion bench they offer, a book resting on her lap. Percy sits on the floor in front of her, and Frank and Reyna sit across from him. They all look up when they hear footsteps, and are surprised to see Nico, since he usually has a class right about now. However, the mood shifts when Nico’s eyes start to water, and they take notice. Reyna is on him without hesitation, pulling him onto the floor with her, and wrapping him in a tight hug. Nico met Reyna last year through Percy, and they became good friends over time. They both had cold, stand-offish personalities that left them acting like the third-wheel to any group they were in, which in the end drew them close together. By now, Reyna had practically adopted him, providing Nico with another sister, and another person who loved him unconditionally. He was lucky to have her.

“What happened?” She asked. All eyes in the group were on him, as he forced himself to take a shaky breath, and wills himself to not cry.

“He’s here” Nico managed to gasp. Percy’s eyes narrowed, automatically going into defensive mode. After all they had been through together, Nico and Percy were finally on good terms. Really good terms. It took a long while. It began while Jason was still around, Nico and Percy had apologized, and cleared the air, and settled on neutral ground. When Jason disappeared, Percy was quick to step up and look out for Nico. He comforted him the best he could, and kept people off Nicos back. There was once a time when Nico couldn’t even look at Percy, or Annabeth for that matter, but now, after all these years, they were friends again. More than friends actually. Percy and Annabeth had also sort of adopted Nico. He had grown quite the family. It’s part of what was starting to make him finally feel okay. Of course, that couldn’t last long, because his life is now tumbling apart yet again.

“Whose here?” Percy asks. Annabeth sits up, quickly shutting her book. Her eyes shine as she looks at Nico, and he knows she’s figured it out.

“Jason?” She guesses, and Nico nods to confirm. Both her and Percy tense up.

“Jason Grace?” Reyna asks, when Nico looks up at her, he realizes that both her and Frank look lost. Nico realizes that while they know about Nico’s lost love, they don’t have a name to go with the story. Nico could never bring himself to say Jason’s name out loud. In fact, no one did. It was a sore topic for all of them.

“What about him?”

“You guys know him?”

“Well yeah. We knew him in middle school. Half way through high school his family moved. We havent seen him since, but we did talk every now and then. He just started here this year,” Frank explains. Percy’s sea green eyes watch Nico very carefully, like he’s afraid Nico might shatter at any moment.

“Are you sure that it’s him, Nico?” Annabeth asks him, and he nods his head.

“I ran into him, literally. It’s him, without a doubt”

“I am guessing it didn’t go well, then?” Percy asks with a deep sigh.

“He doesn’t remember me…” Nico admits with a shake of his head, his eyes start to water again, and it takes every ounce of will power to not actually cry.

“Oh god, Nico, I am so sorry,” You can hear the pity in Percy’s voice, you can see it in Annabeth’s cold grey eyes.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Reyna demands clarification. Nico looks to Percy with pleading eyes, knowing he can’t bring himself to tell the story.

“You know how when Nico was a senior in high school, his boyfriend mysteriously vanished after a huge car crash, and his whole family moved away and no one knew what happened?” Percy had a lovely way of making everything sound so much simpler and more casual then it really was. His way of explaining things was sort of like ripping a band-aid off. He did it quick, without hesitation, and he did it whether it was going to hurt or not.

“That boyfriend, was Jason Grace,” Percy finishes. Reyna’s eyes go wide, and Frank goes silent.

“Oh Nico…” Reyna whispers, pulling him tighter against her.

“What are you going to do?” She asks, Nico remains silent. He doesn’t know. He knows that he should be thrilled. He should be crying tears of joy. He’s been looking for Jason for years. He should be ecstatic to finally have him back, but he isnt. He doesn’t have Jason back, because Jason doesn’t know who he is. Jason Grace has no idea who he is. Jason Grace has been living another life for who knows how long now, a life that very clearly doesn’t involve Nico. A life he seems to be perfectly happy with.

“Nothing” Nico finally decides “He had no idea who I was, I think he even has a girlfriend now. He looks happy,” Nico’s voice cracks, and finally a single tear rolls down his cheek. “I am not going to do anything. I am going to stay far away from him, I am going to let him live his new life” When he looks up, all he sees is the sadness, and the pity in Percy’s eyes, and he can feel Reyna’s grip on him tighten.

“If you guys love me, you’ll do the same. Please, don’t you dare say anything to him. Just leave him alone. Im not a part of his life anymore, I need to accept that”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's here from the man in question, the man of the hour; Jason Grace himself.

Jason reached down, and plucked a strip of paper off the ground. It was one of those photo booth picture sets. It looks like it's Halloween themed. The borders are black and white stripped, and decorated with little ghost, skeleton, tornado, and lightning bolt cloud stickers.

The two people in the picture where dressed in costume.

They were both dressed as pirates. One pirate was Nico; His dark hair messy, and mixed with a couple braids. He wore a puffy white shirt that exposed his collar bones. A hicky is very clearly evident on his neck.

The person beside Nico wears a big captains hat that covers their hair, and an eyepatch covers one eye. He wears a light tan shirt with an over coat. He is looking towards Nico, so you can only see one side of his face.

In the second frame, the other guy has moved closer, and pressed a kiss into Nico’s cheek. Nico’s eyes are wide.

In the next frame, Nico is looking back at the other, and is reaching up to pull his hat down, exposing a bit of blonde hair at the back of his head. A dark blush has spread across Nico’s cheeks.

In the last picture, Nico has one hand on the guys face, and has pulled him in for a kiss. Both of them are blushing.

It must have fallen out of Nico’s binder when he dropped his stuff, and neither of them had noticed. Jason looks inbetween the picture, and where he could see Nico rushing off in the distance. His heart starts to pound, and the weirdest sensation of loss and confusion settles over him.

“Who was that?” Piper asks, moving her hand up his arm, and onto his shoulder. Jason turns to look at her, and forces a smile back onto his face.

“Don’t really know. Just ran into him,” Jason shrugs, but he can’t help but feel like that’s not true.

“Is that his?”

“Yeah, he must have dropped it with the rest of his stuff and didn’t notice…” Piper hums in response, and pats his shoulder.

“Well you should find him and give it back later, right now, we’re going to be late for class,” He nods his head in agreement, and slips the picture into his backpack, as he follows Piper to their next class.

Jason would find him later.

He needed to find him later.

 

 

 

 

Jason had a memory problem. He knew that. A car crash a couple years ago had knocked Jason’s memory around. Everything after the crash had felt strange, and unreal, despite his mother assuring him that nothing in his life had changed, that everything had been exactly the way it was supposed to be.

Jason lived that lie for over a year.

He did volunteer work, helping out at a local school for ‘troubled’ kids while he adjusted. His mother told him he had had a crush on one of the girls that also volunteered there. So naturally, Jason sought ought those feelings, in hope to bring back some of his previous normalcy but it failed. Piper had liked him, but he never could bring himself to like her on the same level. Jason also had a best friend there; Leo, a short, skinny guy the same age as Jason, and with a wild sense of humor. The friendships only felt right after a few months of Jason really trying to get to know them, for what he thought was the second time. Nothing felt right, though. Nothing his mother had told him felt right.

He felt like a stranger in his own place of work, in his own home, in his room, and even in his own skin.

 Jason always felt off, for years he felt like he was living in the dark. Thankfully, A couple months ago, he _finally_ learned why.

 His sister, Thalia, had found him, and told him the truth. His sister saved him, the big sister his mother conveniently left out of the picture. She also left out the fact that she wasn’t biological, and was only his step-mother. Hera, apparently didn’t like Jason before the crash, and found his new amnesia as a gift, and a chance to finally have the perfect son. She lied to him about everything. The house they lived in was new, they moved into it after the crash. Jason had also never met Piper before, he didn’t even know she existed. Hera only thought that Piper, in all her beauty and wisdom and feminine power, would make the ideal girlfriend for her ideal son.

According to Thalia, Hera yanked Jason away from everything he actually knew already. Like his boyfriend. Thalia says that in the last letter Jason sent to her before his crash, he was bragging about a boyfriend. Thalia didn’t have a name though, Jason apparently wanted them to meet in person, and was very vague in his description. But he believed her, because after everything, she was the first thing that made sense to him. Jason took one look at her, and instantly felt calm. He recognized her. He didn’t know who she was until she told him but she felt familiar, she was the only thing that felt familiar to him. He didn’t even recognize his own parents. After a few days of spending time with Thalia, his memories of her, and their birth mother, and his childhood started slowly coming back to him.

He felt that same sense of familiarity at the beginning of the school year, when he ran into two people he apparently knew in middle school. He didn’t remember them, but he took one look at their faces and knew that he knew them.

He felt it again now. The boy that Jason had bumped into was gorgeous. With curly black locks, intensely dark brown eyes, soft pale skin, and sharp features. A lithe body that while small, was clearly still muscular. He was fit, but more in the way that a runner or a dancer would be.

 The second his eyes landed on the younger guy, Jason felt like he had been struck by lightning. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. Warmth flooded through his whole body as an odd sense of happiness and familiarity settled in him. He knew him. Nico had to be a part of his life, his real, original life, but Nico didn’t act like it. When he walked away, Jason couldn’t help but watch, but call out to him. It was too easy to call him, Nico’s name felt too natural on his tongue.

 Now he couldn’t get Nico out of his mind. The younger man had been plaguing his thoughts for hours.

 He couldn’t concentrate in class, not with the way his heart was pounding. Here he was, now late at night, lying in bed in the dark, staring up at the blank ceiling, one hand lightly holding the photo booth slip. His mind keeps running over that Morning, again and again. He thinks of Nico, and the shocked look in his eyes. The way those beautiful, dark eyes seemed to sparkle with fear, and hatred, and pain.

 It was clear to Jason that, somehow, he knew Nico before his accident, he knew that Nico had to be important to him, but the way Nico reacted to him said otherwise. Jason pulled the picture up in front of his face, his eyes scanning over Nico. His heart pangs when his gaze settles on the boy’s clear smile.

_Who are you?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I know I am a little late, thirty minutes past Wednesday! But work and class has been killing me, and I accidentally crashed after work instead of posting. Oops! Hope the chapter makes up for it!

“Oh Nico, I’m so sorry” Hazels voice over the phone is sweet and warm. The epitome of calming, just like always. He can’t go see her right now, like he so desperately wants to, but hearing her voice is just going to have to do. He’s always told his little sister everything. From the moment he saw her, he vowed to love and protect her with all his heart. That included no lying. You don’t lie to someone you love. You tell them everything. Hazel was the first-person Nico willingly came out to. The first person he told about his past, the first person he talked to when he realized his feelings for Jason. She was the first person he told when Jason asked him out, and he continued to tell her everything. Now she wasn’t the first person to hear that Jason was found, but she is the first-person Nico is willing to seriously talk to about it.

“Are you sure not telling him is the best choice?” She asks, and Nico feels like curling up in a ball. He wasn’t prepared for this. If he knew he was going to have this talk with his sister, he would have gone back to his apartment, hid himself under the covers and awaited her call. Of course, Percy had to text Hazel before Nico could, and but of course, Hazel just had to catch him on his early morning coffee run. So now Nico felt trapped, in the tiny but cozy coffee shop a block away from the school campus, curled up in his usual corner of the store, a cup of luke-warm, long forgotten coffee on the table in front of him. Surrounded by noise and people and the scent of coffee Nico feels trapped and lost. He wants to leave, go home, finish the conversation with Hazel later in the comfort and solidarity of his own apartment, but he can’t bring himself to move.

“I don’t know… but he looks happy. I don’t want to ruin that.” His voice is quite and weak as he responds, it’s almost nonexistent. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he didn’t have a choice. Jason looked happy. That carefree smile on his face was hard to ignore.

“He was just as happy when he was with you”

“Was he though?” Nico is quick to bring up the question. Being together wasn’t exactly easy. Nico got a lot of shit for being gay. When Jason came out, he didn’t get as much as Nico, but he certainly got some backlash. When they started dating, well, it wasn’t always easy. Someone was always starting something, someone always had to say something. There school wasn’t exactly kind towards them, they got called a lot of names, and received a lot of hate. Nico got the brunt of it, most people were too scared of Jason to go after him, but that didn’t mean Jason went unscathed. Those who weren’t scared, were relentless. Jason also got burned for their relationship at home. Where his father already didn’t give a damn about him, but once his dad discovered his son was dating the child of his worst enemy, the neglect grew much stronger. Jason just didn’t exist to his father at that point. His stepmother, who at that time loved Jason simply for the idea of having a son went furious. She hated Nico, and quickly grew to hate Jason because of their relationship. She said Nico had soiled her perfect son, and then proceeded to call Jason a petty excuse for a child. She all but disowned Jason when their relationship went public. Dating Nico caused Jason to lose quite a bit. It’d be understandable if Jason really was better off without him.

“Do you really think he’s happy not knowing who he really is?” Hazel proceeds lightly, careful not to push any more wrong buttons. Her brother is fragile, she knows that. She’s so afraid that with Jasons resurgence, he’ll finally go beyond his breaking point.

“It doesn’t matter. I lost him.”

“Lost who?” Every single bone in Nico’s body freezes. If he thought he was trapped before, he was wrong. This is what being trapped felt like. His body felt ice cold yet burning hot at the same time. He felt he would either combust or melt any second. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to scream, or cry, or run away. Just like yesterday. But once again, he can’t. He can’t seem to do anything but stare helplessly as the lost love of his life, Jason Grace, slides into the seat across from him, cup of steaming coffee in his hand.

“Jason?” Nico asks weakly, he’s surprised to hear the sound of his own voice. For a moment, when he sees Jason sitting across from him, a smile on his face, and a light shining in those blue eyes, he forgets the whole world exists.

“Woah. Jasons there? Nico? Nico are you okay?” Hazels voice begins to panic on the other end of the phone, and Nico is very quickly brought back to reality.

“Sorry, I am alright. I’ll talk to you later, Alright Hazel? I love you, bye.” Nico quickly says goodbye, and hangs up the phone, despite hearing her sputter a couple quick protests.

“Good Morning. You looked pretty lonely over here, so I thought I would join you?” Jason chuckles a bit. _Lonely is an understatement_ , Nico thinks. Jason quirks up an eyebrow as he watches Nico set his phone down on the table, curiosity glistening in those sky-blue orbs of his.

“Who was that? A girlfriend?” He asks. It’s such a weird feeling to be sat across from someone who once shared your entire world, and knew you inside and out, and then have them look at you like a stranger while they ask for trivial bits of knowledge. There used to be no secrets between Jason and Nico, they were just that close and that comfortable with each other. Their lives were so seamlessly intertwined, and now they hardly exist to one another.

With that little thought creeping up in the back of Nico’s mind, he can practically hear the sound of his heart beginning to shatter

“No, uh, my- my sister. My little sister, Hazel” Every word said to Jason is a struggle. Just trying not to burst into tears at the sight of his old boyfriend is a struggle. Trying to have a casual small talk with him was on another level of impossible. Nico’s voice cracked and shook, and overall just utterly betrayed him.

“Are you alright?” Jason asks, his arm slides across the table, and he attempts to lay his hand over Nico’s, probably to soothe the younger man, but Nico isn’t having it. It’s still too soon for him. He’s having a hard-enough time looking Jason in the eye right now, if he lets him touch him, it’s all over.

Nico quickly jolts his arm away, and holds it to his chest as as he retreats as far back into his chair as he possibly can, as if he's been scorned.

In a way, he supposes he has. 

“I don’t like to be touched” He warns, and it’s not really a lie. He doesn’t like to be touched, that’s a well-known fact amongst all his friends. He likes to keep physical contact limited. Especially with people he doesn’t know or trust enough. It took him a very long time to finally be somewhat okay with the idea of touch. Now, those who are closest to him had permission to initiate contact. He no longer flinched when Percy put a hand on his shoulder, or when Reyna wrapped him in a hug. Every kiss to the cheek Hazel offered was a blessing, and Jason… well there was nothing better than the way Jason used to slink his arms around Nico waist to keep him close, and then how he would nuzzle his face into the thick locks of Nico hair, making a point to gently kiss the top of his head. Jason’s touch always sent sparks through his body, and every touch left him with this warm, tingling sensation.

Nico wants nothing more than to actually feel Jason again, to have more than just lingering memories or the ghost of a feeling. He wants the whole deal again, he used to say he’d do anything to get Jason back.

Now that he was right here in front of him, he couldn’t be more terrified. Jason looked so happy, even though Nico wasn’t in his life anymore. He seemed so content as he was. Nico couldn’t ruin that.

All he ever wanted was for Jason to be happy, if that’s at his own expense, then so be it.

“I’m sorry” Jason quickly apologizes, pulling his hand back to his side of the table. He frowns as he looks at the way Nico has reeled into himself. His eyes darken a bit, and he honestly looks so sad. Sad Jason Grace always reminded Nico eerily of a kicked puppy. It was a look that always easily pulled at his heart strings.

“It’s okay… Im just..Not having a good day..” He struggles to find the right words, the right tone. He feels like he’s dancing around scattered tacks while barefoot. He doesn’t know where to go or what to do and he is so afraid of failing because he knows it will be painful. He doesn’t want to make a wrong move, but how the hell are you supposed to talk to someone you already know, as if they were a stranger? How do you talk to the love of your life, as if they mean nothing to you?

“I get that, it’s okay” Jason nods his head, and takes a small sip of his coffee. It’s a dark roast with a bit of vanilla creamer and 2 packets of sugar. That’s how he always gets it. That’s how Nico always made it for him.

“If you don’t mind me asking; what’s wrong? Family problems? Struggling with classes? Romantic troubles or Money issues?” Jason asks, leaning forward a bit. Nico looks away, and takes another sip of his own coffee that is very quickly going cold. He’s not really sure how to answer Jason. What’s he supposed to say? The truth? Oh yeah, because _‘I was head over heels in love with you for years, and we dated and you got a lot of shit for it but then you got in a bad car crash, lost your memory and moved away from me so I kind of thought you were dead and I have been terribly heartbroken and depressed for the last few years but now here you are, going to the same school as me but you have absolutely no memory of me and you look pretty content with that and it’s killing me inside but whatever, it’s all good.’_

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable response to share with someone that thinks you just met.

“I guess you could call it romantic troubles, even though there’s technically no romance” Nico sighs, and downs the rest of his coffee. He’s eager to get out of this shop, and away from this conversation. He keeps glancing towards the door. The door that’s on the complete other side of the store. He’s praying that he can just run, just run, and never look back.

At the same time, there is this tiny little voice in the back of his mind telling him that he can’t take his eyes off of Jason.

That he can’t lose him again.

“Ah, So a breakup?” Jason hums. Nico’s heart pounds in his chest, he can hear the beating drum sound in his ears. He feels so cold, so much colder than usual, almost like he could faint, as the whole world starts to spin. 

“Yeah, close enough” Nico mumbles, his eyes start to water a bit the second the words come out of his mouth. He turns away from Jason, just so he doesn’t have to look at him, and wipes his eyes. He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself because he's starting to feel so nauseous.

“Do you have a class today?” Jason suddenly asks. Nico nods his head, swallowing down the thick block that had started to form in his throat. 

“I have a class at eleven, and a class at 4” Nico, a bit confused, answers the question anyway.

“Well then” Jason clears his throat, and stands to his feet. “Sounds like you’ve got a good hour to kill before class, and you look like you could use some cheering up” Nico finally looks back up to Jason, who just offers his signature, thousand-watt smile, and offers Nico a hand.

“So how about we go for a walk?” Classic Jason Grace. Why taking a walk was always his go-to way to cheer someone up, Nico never understood, But he couldn’t say No.

The gesture was too kind, too selfless, and too similar to the first time they met for Nico to ignore.

So, Nico sucked it up, pushed down whatever fear he could, and did exactly what his better judgment told him not to do; and he took Jason’s hand. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to the day they first met

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post this chapter now, since it is so short, and it's basically attached seamlessly to the previous chapter, so I figured 'Why Not?'  
> Chapter 6 will still be posted on Saturday as usual of the updating schedule.

_“Are you okay?” Nico hadn’t even been back to school a whole day, and yet he was already being picked on. You’d think bullies would give the kid a break, seeing he was just kidnapped and held in a cage for days on end with no food or water, but guess not. He thought that returning to school right away would prove to people that he’s much stronger then they gave him credit for. They didn’t seem to care. The attacks on Nico did not cease. He got lucky just now, just as quickly as he was approached, his attackers were being chased away. He’d been knocked to the ground, but that’s all that happened this time. Nico looks up to find one Jason Grace leaning down towards him, offering him a helping hand. Nico ignores it._

_He knows who Jason is. He’s Nico’s opposite. The Golden Boy of the city. The kid always in the spot-light and loving it. The boy everyone loved, respected, and looked up to. He’s handsome, charming, and smart. Excelling in both academics and athletics._

_He’s at the very top of the food chain, Nico is at the bottom._

_“Fine” Nico pushed himself up of the ground, slamming his hand on the wall next to him to keep him on his feet. He isn’t exactly fully recovered. He still feels dizzy, and everything still seems so dark. The effects of his prison havent quite left him yet. Jason has noticed._

_“You don’t look fine” Jason places a hand on Nico’s shoulder to help steady him, Nico swats the hand away. Whatever Grace is doing, it’s purely out of pity._

_He’s never even looked in Nico’s direction before. He has no reason to care about him now._

_“Im fine” Nico repeats, turning to glare at the blonde, who does not back down. He simply gazes straight back, those sky-blue eyes sparkling with concern. Why so much concern?_

_“I just wanted to make sure you were okay….I was.. uh..I was there when, when uh, Percy found you” Oh. Oh god. There it was; the pity. He knows what Jason saw. That day, Jason saw a kid as thin as bone and just as pale. Barely alive and as weak as a brittle leaf. Nico was a pathetic sight, he’s sure of it._

_“Im sorry” but that wasn’t pity in Jasons voice._

_“Im Jason Grace, by the way” He offers an awkward smile to Nico “Again, Im really sorry you had to go through all that…” It’s clear he has no idea what to say. He’s awkward and clumsy with his words. There’s a deep blush that’s quickly popping up at the tops of his ears. Contrary to everything Nico had ever heard about him before._

_“Nico” He quickly mutters out his own name, because it’s the first thing that comes to his mind. “and I know” He adds on, as it’s the only other thing Nico could think to say in response. He was well aware of who Jason was. He’d heard countless stories. He’s also aware of the fact that what happened to him isn’t easy. He’s been told several times that he’s gone through what no child should._

_“Do you…Uh, do you have a class right now? I could walk you there… you know, make sure no one else bothers you?” Jason rubs the back of his neck, the flush of red that once tinted his ears reaching his cheeks._

_“I don’t really feel like class right now, I think I’ll just go home” Nico turns down the offer. His stomach is starting to twist, and his head starting to pound. It would just be best if he went home and rested for the day._

_Jason lets out a slight huff, and nods his head “Do you think, uh, would you mind if I walked you home then?” Jason proposes an alternative, and when Nico just stares at him, he clears his throat. “I just want to make sure you get home alright”_

_Nico raises an eyebrow at him, still not sure what on earth Jason Grace is thinking, or trying to accomplish, but for whatever reason;_

_Nico agrees to let Jason walk him home._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jason~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update will be Wednesday February 14th, aka, valentines day~

Jason led Nico to the park down the block, and they walked around in silence for quite a while. They strolled around, enjoying the cold air and each other’s company. Well, at least Jason was.

Nico seemed a bit uneasy. He kept a decent amount of distance between them and kept his eyes forward.

 Jason on the other hand couldn’t take his eyes off his new-friend, and he had the strongest urge to close that gap between them.  Every once in a while, Jason’s fingers would twitch, and his instincts would tell him to take Nico’s hand. He always ignored it though. He knows that wouldn’t be welcomed.

The dark-haired boy had made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of physical contact, and he didn’t seem comfortable enough walking side by side with Jason, let alone to be that intimate with him.

After a while, Nico finally eases up when they start heading back towards campus. Jason accompanies Nico all the way to his first classroom.

“This is your class?” Nico nods his head, but avoids looking Jason in the eyes.

“Alright…Well” Jason clears his throat. He’s not ready to leave just yet. He doesn’t want this to be the last time he sees Nico. He likes it too much. He likes that warm, content feeling that washes over him every time he’s around. He wants more of that feeling, and he wants to understand it. There’s something there, something between them.

 He knows it.

He’s sure of it.

 

“Well uh, do you have a phone?” Jason asks, Nico finally looks at him, shocked and a bit confused. “You know, so I can maybe text or call you sometime?”

Nico looks away, and bites down on his lower lip, deep in thought before mumbling; “I don’t think that’s a good idea…” his voice quivers, and Jason can practically feel his heart start to sink. It’s not just the rejection, but the pure sadness and pain in Nico’s voice that hits him.

Every last inch of his body tells him to hug Nico, to yank him into his arms, hold him tight to chase away whatever is making him so upset. But he can’t.

He has a feeling that if he tried to comfort Nico, he would only make it worse.

“That’s alright… I understand, I uh… I guess I’ll see you around then…good luck with your classes…” Jason chokes out, with a stiff nod of his head, then he turns, and starts to walk away.

He’ll see Nico again, surely. He does still need to give him back that picture. That ensures at least one meetup.

That doesn’t seem to be enough for Jason, though.

He feels like there’s a thick string attaching him to Nico. He’s drawn to him, and he just wants to stay by him.

“Jason! Wait!” Nico suddenly stops him, a small, cold hand on his arm. The touch sends a shiver down Jason’s spine.

 

 Suddenly, an image of Nico, small, pale, and frail, being knocked harshly to the ground passes through his mind, and a sense of alarm and anger flushes through him.

 

 Then it’s gone, and he’s looking down at Nico. This Nico.

Taller, more defined, and healthier looking then the one in his vision.

It’s the right Nico. The one he bumped into yesterday, the one he had just taken a walk with.

His Nico.

 

“It’s not a good idea, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it…” His hand suddenly leaves Jasons arm, to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, a dark blush forming over the bridge of his nose, and across his cheeks.

He looks so bashful.

Jason doesn’t think he’s ever seen something so cute.

“You mean?” “Give me your phone” Nico holds out his hand, and Jason doesn’t hesitate, quickly fumbling around in his pocket to hand his phone over to Nico. He doesnt keep it locked. Piper and Leo like to play games on his phone, even though they have their own, so he doesn’t see the need for a password.

He watches as Nico goes into the contacts option, and inserts his name and phone number, before handing it back.

“Here, I guess I’ll talk to you later…” and just like that, Nico disappears into his classroom, leaving Jason standing alone in the hallway, his heart thumping in his chest, as he stares down at the writing in his phone.

He looks at the words left there as if he had been given the secret to the universe.  

 

_Nico Di Angelo_

 

 

 

 

 

“You seem to be in a good mood?” Piper nudged him when he returned home, and plopped down on the couch between his two best friends.

“I got his number” Jason smiles, proud of his victory. His friends give a happy laugh.

“Is this about that guy Pipes told me about?” Leo asks. Piper had seen Nico, and Jason had told her about the connection he felt. Of course, she had relayed the message to their other closest friend.

“Nico. His names Nico Di Angelo” the name feels so natural and nice rolling off Jason’s tongue. Like he’s said it a thousand times.

“and you got his number? Get it, Jace!” Leo hoots, shoving into the blondes shoulder a bit. Jason chuckles.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. He seems really uncomfortable around me, and he wasn’t too keen on giving me his number. He said it wasn’t a good idea” Jason may have succeeded in getting Nico’s number in the end, but he will not forget what he said.

“but he gave you his number anyway?” Piper asks, and Jason nods.

“Well maybe he’s dating someone” “or he just got out of a relationship”

“I think he did just go through a bad breakup. When I ran into him this morning he was really upset, and when I asked him if it was romantic issues, or a break up, he said ‘close enough’”

“Huh” Piper hums “It’s probably either an old breakup that he’s still not completely over, or he’s getting close to a breakup”

“but he still did give you his number” Leo points out

“and he me let go on a walk with him, and walk him to class beforehand” Jason adds. Both his friends hum in thought.

“Sounds to me like he’s interested”

“Just keep up that classic Jason Grace charm and he’ll be in your arms in no time”

“Leo, I don’t even know if he’s interested in guys. Let’s try friendship before I try romancing him”

“Im sorry, Jace. But he’s definitely gay”

“How do you know?”   
“Have I ever been wrong?” Piper challenges him, and Jason just sighs because;

“No, no you haven’t”

“Exactly. Besides, in all the time I’ve known you, anytime you got romantically close to someone, you backed out right away because you said, ‘it doesn’t feel right’ but you bump into this guy once on your way to class and you can’t get him out of your head. That has to mean something, sparky”

“If you say so. I still think I’ll follow the friendship route first” Piper is right, Jason hasn’t showed interest in anyone in a long time.

Any time he actually tried to be with someone, it just felt wrong. There was always a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that it wasn’t right.

Now here’s Nico. Who Jason just met yesterday, and has only talked to a few times, and yet he makes Jasons heart pound like the drum solo of a heavy rock song.

His image is superglued to the walls of his mind, and he can’t get the sound of his voice out of his head.

He wants to hold Nico's cold hands in his to keep him warm. 

He wants to thread his fingers through thick black hair and revel in how soft it is. 

He has the urge to hold Nico tight in his arms, and never let him go.

He wants to kiss him, keep him close and whisper sweet words in his ears to chase away any and all negative feelings that had been haunting him before.

He wants to care for Nico. Wants to protect him. 

He wants to love Nico. 

 However, he doubts Nico is feeling the same intense connection, or would be comfortable fulfilling those weird urges Jason has.

They just met, after all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico had never hated movie night so much in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines day!

**Unknown: Hi :)**

Nico stares down at the text for a good fifteen minutes. He doesn’t know what to do, or how to respond. He knows it’s Jason, that’s the only person whose number wouldn’t be in his phone. The smiley face is also classic Jason. 

“If you stare at that any longer, your eyes will fall out of your head” Nico jumps at the sound of Percy’s voice directly in his ear. For a second, he completely forgot that he was with his friends.

“Fuck off, Jackson” Nico tries to shoo him away, but instead, Percy jumps over the back of the couch, and flops down on the spot next to Nico. Annabeth and Reyna booth look over to see what’s happening. “Who are you texting?” Percy questions, pressing against Nico’s side to get a closer look at the phone screen.

“No one, mind your own business” Nico shoves at him with his shoulder, but it does not deter the mischievous boy. He reaches back over, and plucks the phone right out of Nico’s hands. 

“Is this Jason?” When Nico reaches out to reclaim his phone, his friend slaps his hand away, and concentrates on the screen. If Annabeth and Reyna weren’t paying attention before, they were now.

“I thought you said you were going to avoid him and let him live his new life?” Reyna has made it clear that she didn’t like Nico’s plan. Nico however, thought it was his only option.

“I was. He’s not exactly making that easy. He ambushed me during my coffee run when I was talking to Hazel. We walked through the park, then he walked me to class. Then he asked me for my number. The whole time I knew it was a bad idea, but it’s too hard to say no to him” Nico admits. It’s hard to look at the love of your life, and refuse to spend time with them. Nico would do anything for Jason, just to make him happy.

 That’s how it always was between them. They did everything they possibly could for each other. Now was no different. Jason may not remember their past, but Nico does. Somewhere in his jaded heart, there is still a lot of love for that golden boy.

He would bend backwards and balance the world on the tip of his finger if Jason asked.

“Understandable” Annabeth nods to him, with a nice, sympathetic smile.

“He texted you 15 minutes ago, Nicky, reply” Percy double checks the message, and frowns.

Nico shakes his head “I don’t know what to say. Besides were supposed to be having movie night. I’ll text him back later” he disagrees, but his green-eyed friend isn’t pleased with this.

“Better idea! Invite him to movie night!” Percy comes up with his genius plan, which Nico instantly rejects.

“No way! No! Bad Idea!”

“Too late! Already sending the invite!” Percy jumps off the couch, and runs off with the phone. Nico follows him, as quickly as possible, chasing him around the apartment.

“Sent!”

“Youre dead, Jackson!” Nico tackles Percy onto the floor, and reaches for the phone. Percy tries to hold it out of Nico’s reach, and while the smaller is occupied in his acquisition, Percy takes the opportunity to flip them over. Putting Jackson on top, sitting on Nico’s legs.

“Ugh! You’re crushing me!” Nico tries to sit up, but Percy leans over, and basically lies down on Nico, who groans louder.

“That’s rude, Nicky. I’m not that heavy” Percy whines, but gets distracted suddenly, completely ignoring the person thrashing about beneath him.

“Wow, He sure texted back fast. He was definitely waiting on you, and you left him hanging? Ouch”

“Perce! Give me the phone!”

“Percy, please get off Nico, before you crush him”

“Or make him die of embarrassment”

“Too late; He already said yes”

“What the fuck” Nico grumbles, pleased that Percy Is finally moving off him, but still ticked off that he went against Nico’s will.  

“You’ll thank me later”

“No, I am going to kill you later”  

“We’ll see about that."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Jason Grace, Nice to meet you! We’ve heard so much about you! Come in, Come in!” Why Percy always has to be so extra and so dramatic, Nico will never know. Percy greets Jason at the door with a huge smile on his face, and he knows that smile is fake, just like Nico’s is. Percy and Jason were friends. They weren’t the closest or anything like that, but they were friends, and they did spend a lot of time together. Percy did miss Jason. He’s never said it outright, but it’s not hard to tell. Percy want’s nothing more than to wrap Jason in a hug, and Nico wouldn’t be surprised if Percy cried a little bit.

Percy Jackson wasn’t the heartless rebel everyone at school made him out to be. Percy had a huge heart, and in it he had a lot of love and care for all his family and friends. He would do anything for them.

“Uh, Hi?” Jason is a little shaken by being pulled through the door by a stranger, but the second his eyes settle on Nico, a smile worms its way onto his face.

“Hey, Jason” Nico clears his throat “You already know Reyna, right?” Nico gestures to the dark-haired woman lounging on the couch. Reyna gives him a small smile, and waves, and Jason waves back.

“Yeah, hey. I didn’t know you knew Nico?” There’s an odd curiosity in his voice, and something tells him he’ll be talking to Reyna a lot later.

“He’s my roommate”

“Oh…” Jason seems to store that information away.

“That weird guy hanging on you is Percy, and that is his girlfriend, Annabeth.”

“Nice to meet you” Annabeth is a much better actor then Percy. She gives Jason a small smile and a curt nod.

“We’re Nico’s parents, it’s a pleasure to meet you”

“They’re not my parents”

“We might as well be” Percy argues, finally releasing his hold on Jason to cross his arms. Nico can’t help but roll his eyes. After Jason’s disappearance, something seemed to click in Percy’s water-logged brain, and all of a sudden, he wouldn’t leave Nico alone. They had patched things up, sure, but after that Percy took it as his responsibility to shove Nico under his wing and help him. He acts more like a really, really annoying big brother then like a parent. Annabeth says he’s just trying to do what he should have done all those years ago.

“Then you are a terrible parent” Percy gives a dramatic gasp and holds his hand against his chest.

“Nicky!” He exclaims, and Nico wants to slap him for using that nickname. He uses it often, but now is not the time for it. Jason started that nickname. Percy is using it now on purpose. He’s not as dumb as he usually lets on. He’s a cunning little shit when he wants to be.

“Nicky?” Jason gives a quite chuckle. Nico can’t help the glare he shoots in Percy’s direction.

“Aint that cute? Nicos first boyfriend gave him that name, and it just sort of stuck”

_Youre treading in dangerous waters, Percy. Don’t go there._

“Oh” Jasons smile falls, and he suddenly seems a bit uncomfortable, and confused.

_You’re dead, Jackson._

“So! What movie are we watching tonight!?” Nico interrupts, not willing to let that conversation topic go any further.

“I think it’s a rom-com kind of night?” Annabeth suggests, and Nico wants to kick her. She doesn’t like romance movies. She finds them boring and unrealistic.

“I was thinking horror movies?” Thank gods for Reyna. At least she seemed to be on his side.

“I don’t know. Im with Annie on this one. It’s been a while since we’ve watched a good, cheesy, romantic comedy. What do you think, Jason? You good with some rom-coms?” Percy picks up on his girlfriend’s cues as well, and rolls with it.

“I don’t mind” Jason smiles. You’d never know it, but Jason Grace is an absolute hopeless romantic. He and Nico would watch bad rom-coms together and laugh at it. Sometimes they’d pick out which characters they’d be, and who their friends would be. Jason always said their relationship was worthy of its own movie. Percy and Annabeth are well aware of that tradition, and he knows that’s what they’re pushing for.

“Great! I’ll go get the popcorn. What do you want to drink, Jace? We’ve got hot chocolate, iced tea, water, coke”

“Hot Chocolate sounds good, thanks”

“I’ll help you with that, Perce” Nico doesn’t hesitate to follow Percy in the kitchen, just so he has the opportunity to punch him in private.

“Ouch! What the hell, Nico?” His friend rubs at his assaulted arm, his lips pulling into a tight frown.

“Seriously? What the heck are you trying to do out there?” Nico whisper yells at him, making sure to keep his voice down, knowing Jason is in the next room over.

“Sorry, but I don’t agree with what you’re doing. He should know” Percy shrugs it off, shoving the bag of popcorn in the microwave.

“No. He has his own life now. He’s happy, he’s got a girlfriend. He doesn’t need me in his life anymore.  Im not going to ruin whatever he has going by telling him the truth, and neither are you. Let him live his life” Nico argues, getting out the cups for the hot chocolate, and getting the mix together.

Percy groans. “Nico, do you really think Jason wouldn’t want you? You were like his whole world back home. That guy loved you with all his heart, you really don’t think he’d want to know? You know him better than anyone else, so give me an honest answer. Do you really think Jason wouldn’t want to know about his past? About you?”

Nico sighs, and shakes his head, because he knows the other has a point.

“He would want to know. But I don’t want to complicate things for him. He’s got a girlfriend. He’s got a life. I am nothing but a stranger to him.  I can’t dump all this on him”

“You’re not a stranger to him. He sought you out at the coffee shop. He took you on a walk to clear your mind, he walked you to class, asked for your number, and now he’s jumped at the opportunity to come hang out with you. You really think he doesn’t care about you? He’s on your couch right now” Percy points to the living room, and Nico slaps his hand out of the air, not wanting to draw attention to them.

“Percy!”

“No, Im serious, Nico. He’s still Jason. That’s clear. He doesn’t remember but he’s still himself. If he fell in love with you once, he can fall in love with you again, and I guarantee you all his memories are still in there. They’re deep, but they’re there. I know it”

“Percy, please… I am sure he has a girlfriend, just let it go, I don’t-“

“You guys need help with anything?” Cut off by the man himself, Nico instantly feels his face heat up.

“We’re go-“

“Actually, could you take this out to the girls, and come back for this?” Percy hands Jason two cups of hot chocolate, and then points to the bowl of popcorn he had poured a second before.

“Sure” Jason offers his usual killer smile and disappears with the drinks.

“Sorry, Nico, but you were the happiest when you were with Jason. I am not letting you lose that because you’re too chicken shit to take the risk” Percy whispers to him really quick before Jason comes back.

“So, Jason” Instead of handing the bowl of popcorn to Jason, Percy pops another bag into the microwave, and traps Jason there with a conversation.

“Tell me about yourself. Got a girlfriend? Good looking guy like you, you must have girls all over you?” Why must Percy always be so blunt.

“Well, Uh” Jason clears his throat, the tips of his ears growing hot. “I am, uh, I am actually single right now” He glances at Nico from the corner of his eyes, but both Nico and Percy catch this. The smirk on Percy’s face grows.

“Why is that? If you don’t mind me asking. Just curious; thought a guy like you would have suitors out the door.” Percy keeps going, Jason shrugs a bit.

“I don’t mind, and uh, I am not really sure. I tried dating a friend of mine a while ago, but it didn’t work out. I have had a couple people ask me out since coming here too, but it just never feels right?”

Percy hums, and nods his head in thought while Nico does his best to not bang his head against the oven.

“I think I know what you mean. Nothing feels right because you have this strange feeling that there’s someone else out there, someone actually meant for you?” Percy glances to the side, to eyeball Nico. Thankfully, Jason doesn’t notice.

“Yeah, Yeah that’s what it feels like. Like, when I try thinking about being with someone, it just feels wrong, Like I’m betraying someone.” Nico doesn’t know who he wants to kill first; himself, or Percy.

“I know that feeling” Percy nods, sympathetically. “What about you Nico, you know that feeling?” He drags Nico down into the conversation he was trying so hard to stay out of. Jason looks at him, the emotion in his eyes completely unreadable, he tries to focus on the cups in front of him.

“Yeah, I know the feeling” He admits, because he does. He tried to get over Jason, he really did. But it never worked. Any time he tried, it just didn’t feel right, and he always felt like he was betraying his lost love.

“So, what else can you tell me about yourself, Jace?”

“Uh, not much, I am not a very interesting person” Jason lets out a bit of a chuckle as he shrugs, but Percy shakes his head, because he knows for a fact that it isn’t true.

“What about your classes? Taking anything interesting?” Percy keeps fishing for information, and Jason willingly takes the bait with a soft smile.

“Not really, taking pretty basic classes this semester”

“Really? That’s no fun.” Percy clicks his tongue.

“It’s not that bad. I do have one kind of fun class; I’m taking Italian for my foreign language” That has Percy’s attention, and it has Nico’s head spinning.

“Italian? That’s interesting. What made you want to take that?” Percy grins like an idiot as he turns off the microwave and pulls out the freshly popped bag of popcorn.

“I am not sure. I just saw it on the open class list one day and it really stood out to me, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now it’s really biting me in the butt. It’s a fun class and the teacher is really cool, but it’s kind of hard” Jason and Percy laugh it off, but Nico feels like he’s going to be sick.

_‘You know, Nicky, one of these days, I’m going to learn Italian, and I’m finally going to understand all those sweet nothings you whisper to me.’_

The memory is so clear and vivid as It rushes through his brain. Nico used to whisper things to Jason in Italian. They were usually things he couldn’t muster to say to him in English. Like how hot he thought his boyfriend was, or how much he loved him. Every now and then he would tease his partner, and call him an insult in the foreign language, just because he knew it annoyed him. It was a long running joke between them. Jason always threatened he would someday learn Italian, so Nico couldn’t use it against him anymore.

Knowing that the idea stuck with Jason makes him want to feint. He may not know the reason, but the need to do it is still there.

So, what else is still there?

“Well, did you know Nicky here is Italian?” Percy yanks Nico to his side and ruffles his hair. Nico swats his hand away, and tries to fix his hair, a blush creeping up the back of his neck.

“I figured so, the name is kind of a giveaway” Jason smiles down at Nico, and the latter finds himself unable to hold the eye contact.

“But did you know that he’s one hundred percent, born and raised Italian?”   _Don’t do it Percy._

“I did not” _You used to._ The little voice in the back of Nico’s head chants. He wants to go lay down, somewhere far away from this conversation.

“Well he is. He lived there till he was around ten years old. Italian is his first language, mother tongue. I’m sure he would love to help you out if you’re having trouble with your class” Percy claps Nico hard on the back, and Nico finally looks back up to lock eyes with Jason, who gives him a soft, hopeful smile.

“That’d be a big help, if you’re willing? Our midterm is coming up and I don’t think I’ll survive it as is” Jason jokes, but there’s too much hope in his eyes to just be asking for some tutoring sessions.

“Yeah, sure. I could tutor you” Nico agrees, but instantly regrets it. He’s agreeing to more time with Jason. Which is dangerous. Very, very dangerous.

“Great! So what do you say we get this movie night going!”

 

 

 

 

Nico had never hated movie night so much in his life.

Because he was sitting painfully close to Jason for two and a half hours, while simultaneously not being close enough.

Because at some point in the night Jason had grown enough courage to casually drop his arm behind Nico’s shoulders, and because Nico was too much of a coward to take that opportunity.

 Because Jason had clearly wanted to be closer to Nico, while Nico was pretty sure he had forgotten how to breath.

 Because even after all that, Percy still wasn’t satisfied, and decided to tell Jason “Look man, in all seriousness, Nico’s like a little brother to me, and if you so much as stand near him in a way he doesn’t like I will make you regret it” as he walked their ‘new’ friend to the front door.

Because Jason just had to look over Percy’s shoulder to smile at Nico and say ‘Don’t worry, I have nothing but good intentions’

He hated this movie night so much because he felt so lonely and confused afterwards.

Because he was so painfully aware that he was still in love and still grieving.

Because he was no longer sure what he should do with Jason Grace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the longest chapters in the story, because it was originally into two separate chapters, but it flows better as one. So, yeah. Hope you like it!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold and Italics are Jason. Just bold is Nico.

**_Good Morning :D_ **

He stared at his keyboard for a whole minute before typing out his message, then he spent another five minutes staring at the words, thumb nervously hovering above the button before finally pushing send, and dropping his phone down on the bed.

Last night had been…. Last night had been interesting. When he got the text, the invitation to join movie night, he didn’t even think twice about it. All he saw on his screen was an opportunity to spend more time with Nico, so he took it. He knew Nico wouldn’t be alone, he hoped but had highly doubted it. Somehow, he was still surprised to be pulled through the door by Percy Jackson. The guy with the devious sea green eyes seemed vaguely familiar, but Jason assumed he’d just seen him around town. After all, the name he had heard before. Same goes for his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. The two of them had quite the reputation around the campus. Percy was very friendly, to say the least. But he seemed to draw some sort of invisible line between Jason and himself.

On one hand, he was pulling what he would consider classic wing man moves. Things Leo and Piper used to do if they wanted to try and hook Jason up with someone. Percy dug about him being single, and he always pulled Nico back into the conversation, he also grabbed at whatever he could find to connect them together. He was looking for common ground. This Jason liked. Learning that Nico was fluent in Italian is going to be incredibly helpful for him. It will not only save his ass before the midterm, but it will also give him a good way to spend more time with Nico. Percy did that on purpose, he can tell. He was thankful for that.

However, Percy also kept eyeing Jason, like he was trying to see through him, trying to read him. That was a tad uncomfortable. He also kept mentioning Nico’s first boyfriend, which on one hand does let Jason know that Nico isn’t straight, which is good for him, but it was also strange to have it brought up. Percy did it casually, sure, but it also seems like he was doing it on purpose. Like he was trying to remind Nico of said first boyfriend, as a way to wedge them apart.

Jason couldn’t tell if Percy Jackson was on his side or not. The threat at the end of the night certainly didn’t help either. He wasn’t sure if it was invitation to pursue Nico, or a threat to stay away.

Seeing Reyna, a friend he has learned is actually an old friend as well, was pretty interesting too. He learned that she is roommates with Nico, which is something that could come in handy later, but also something that’s made him think.

 When he first bumped into Reyna, he couldn’t remember her, but something in his gut told him that she was familiar. His gut was right. The same thing happened with Thalia. He didn’t remember his sister but every bone his body still told him that he knew her.

With Nico, it’s different. It’s a closer feeling to with Thalia then with Reyna. Nico is familiar to him. He’s drawn to him. Something in his body aches for Nico.

Nico, however, regards Jason as a stranger, someone he just met. It doesn’t make any sense at all to him. There has to be some reason that he feels so connected to Nico so quickly.

 **Good Morning _._** He stares at the reply, his heart fluttering in his chest like a little humming bird.

_Love at first sight? Maybe?_

Jason doesn’t think he’s ever really believed in that. Not for him at least. But he bumped into Nico that day, he took one look into his eyes and he knew something was there. With the way Nico makes him feel, the way his heart picks up when he thinks about him, the way he can’t keep his eyes off him every time he sees him, and the way his skin burns with desire to touch him any time they’re in the same room.

 It’s driving him crazy and it all has to mean something.

He just doesn’t know what.

But he’s going to figure it out.

Jason Is absolutely determined to figure it out.

 ** _Can I interest you in some morning coffee?_** Jason takes a moment of courage to ask Nico out. Well, not out out. But to hang out. It’s not a date. Officially. Not yet. Jasons not there, not yet.

 **Already there** Nico’s response is quick, and is accompanied by a picture of a coffee cup, steam spewing from the top. Jason recognizes the cup as one of the ones from the same café he met Nico at the day before.

 ** _Mind if I join you then?_** His heart was surely about to collapse as the words form on the screen. He doesn’t know if Nico’s answer makes it better or worse.

**I think I’d like that**

Jason doesn’t think he’s ever grinned so much in his life, then again, he wouldn’t actually know if he has. He feels like he has, but at the same time, he feels like only Nico has made him feel like this. It doesn’t make any sense to him.

**_Leaving my apartment right now, I’ll be there in fifteen_ **

**Are you walking?**

**_Yeah?_ **

**That’s a long walk**

**_Not long, just boring._ **

**All for some coffee?**

**_And for some good company. It’s worth it._ **

Up until that text, Nico had been responding pretty quickly. Jason had slipped on a light jacket, shoved his wallet and keys in his pocket, and left, making sure his apartment was properly locked up first. He started walking down the street, just to realize that Nico was taking a while to respond. About a minute. His previous texts all came only seconds after Jasons, like he had been waiting for them. Now he was hesitating. Jason couldn’t help but wonder what happened.

 **How do I make your walk not so boring then?** God, Jason’s head starts spinning as the words pop up on his phone. He swears… it sounds like… That really sounds like Nico’s flirting with him. Jasons heart is pounding with confusion and anticipation. He hesitates to text back. Not knowing what to say. His response has got to be perfect. It has to fit. Does he flirt back? Does he act casual like he doesn’t get it?

 ** _You’ve already made it better by texting me._** Yeah, that sounds good right? Kind of casual, kind of flirty. It works? Right?

**Okay, how about I keep you entertained then?**

**_Sounds good to me. How about a game then?_** Jason sees an opportunity, and he jumps at it. He’s trying his best not to rush down the street like a grinning mad man whose eyes are super glued to his phone. Instead, he’s trying to take it slow, keeping his pace steady, and all though he doesn’t want to, he does keep his eyes off his phone until it vibrates to let him know Nico has responded, that way he doesn’t constantly bump into other pedestrians on the side walk. He also doesn’t want the walk to be over too soon, that is, if it’s going to go where he hopes it is.

**Okay, what do you have in mind?**

**_How about twenty questions? We go back and forth asking questions, we each get twenty. We’ll count. This way we can get to know eachother a bit better too._ **

He takes his chance. This will be a good strategy. It will give him the chance to get to know more about Nico, and if he can time it right, he’ll use his last question to ask Nico out on a date.

**I don’t see why not, you can start.**

**_Okay. 1. How old are you?_ **

  1. **How old are you?**
  2. Jason isn’t really that surprised to hear that Nico is younger then him, he suspected as much.



**_When is your birthday?_ **

**January 28 th, when is yours? **

**_July 1 st. Are you just going to repeat every question I ask you? _ **

**Nope. What’s your favorite color?** Jason chuckles a little bit. It’s almost like Nico knew he was going to ask that, like he was waiting for it.

 ** _Midnight Blue. It always really catches my eye for some reason. What is your favorite color?_** There’s a slight pause this time before Nico’s answer pops up, like he had to think about it.

**Light blue. Like the sky. Question number 4 for me, what is your favorite book?**

An interesting question. Most people always assume Jasons a jock kind of person, Not many people naturally assume he’s a reader.

**_The Song of Achilles. Why would you assume I am a reader?_ **

**You just seem like the type. Why that book?**

**_Because you didn’t ask what my favorite story was. If you asked for my favorite story, I would have told you The Odyssey. There is a difference._ **

Jason is a good ten minutes away from the café still, but he swears he can hear Nico laughing at him.

**Of course you would think there’s a difference. You’re such a nerd**

The teasing makes Jason’s heart flutter a bit, and makes his smile grow wider, if that’s even possible.

**_Fine then, Mr. Cool Guy, what’s your favorite?_ **

**Okay then, I don’t have a favorite book, I love too many, but My favorite story is that of Jason and The Argonauts.**

There it is again. That weird feeling that Nico is once again flirting, but Jason isn’t sure how to respond.

**_Good choice._ **

Is what Jason settles for, even though he has a million other options, things he could have said, things he should have said. There were so many more flirty options. But no. He went with ‘good choice’.

  1. **What kind of music do you listen to?**



**_I honestly don’t really listen to music that much. If I do, I tend to be more drawn to classic rock. What about you?_ **

**Classic rock and punk.**

**_I can see that. You’d get along really well with my sister._ **

**Favorite Movie?** Nico, again, takes a minute to respond, and when he does, he completely ignores Jason’s comment. Jason finds it odd, of course, but he’s not gonna push it. Maybe Nico was already typing before Jason sent it. Maybe he didn’t even see the message.

**_Currently: Wonder Women. Yours?_ **

**Pirates of The Caribbean** Jasons gets this sharp noise ringing out in his ears for a second, as the picture of Nico he found on the ground after they first met starts flashing through his mind.

**_You like pirates?_ **

**I love pirates. I thought they were like, the coolest thing ever when I was a little kid.** Jason can see it, picture it in his mind. A little kid, tan, smiling, with Nico’s dark hair, just shorter and choppier, and with more light and happiness in his dark brown eyes, in a typical Halloween store pirate costume, thrusting a sword into the air.  It’s such a clear imagine in his head, almost as clear as the picture he found on the ground.

**_Im guessing you dressed up like a pirate for Halloween plenty of times then?_ **

**Im counting that as your 9 th question. And yes, I have been a Pirate for Halloween five times. Three of those times were consecutive. **

**_How cute_ ** Jason teases, and when he doesn’t get an immediate response, he starts to panic, realizing he might have made a mistake in deciphering the tone of the conversation.

 **Damn right.** Nico’s text comes with a picture attached. It’s a photo of a photo, and an old one at that. Of a young Nico Di Angelo, maybe twelve years old, happily dressed as a pirate, holding his sword high up to the sky. Just like Jason imagined. Exactly like Jason imagined. His heart clenches. He’s seen that picture before. He must have.

 **So, what’s your favorite t.v show?** Nico keeps the game rolling before Jason even has the chance to ask about the picture or mention his weird feeling of déjà vu. He decides in the end that it’s best to leave it as is. He’ll figure it out another day.

**_The Flash_ **

**You really like super-heros, huh?** He can practically see the smile on Nico’s lips, hear the fondness in his voice. It’s such a vivid thing to him, through such a simple text.

**_It’s hard not to. What’s your favorite Super Hero?_ **

**I’ve always been a fan of the X-men. I think I’d have to say Rogue is my favorite. Is the flash your favorite?**

**_Good choice, and yeah, The Flash is definitely my favorite._ **

**I pegged you for more of a superman type.**

**_No way. The flash is way cooler. Supermans alright, he just seems over done to me. Why would you think Im a superman type?_ **

**It might have something to do with the fact that you literally look like a blonde version of him.**

Jason chuckles a bit, he can feel a blush creeping across his cheeks. It’s not exactly the first time he’s been called a blonde superman. Leo calls him that all the time. But it feels much more embarrassing for Nico to point it out.

**_So I’ve been told. Do I really though?_ **

**Definitely. Though I think you’re a bit more of a Clark Kent then a superman.**

**_What’s that supposed to mean?_ **

**Normal. Goofy. Clumsy. Awkward. Glasses. Although, Im sure you have your superman moments too.**

**_Well then, if I am Clark Kent/ Superman, does that make you my Lois Lane?_** Jason finally grows enough courage to get a little more flirtatious. He can’t bring himself to look away from his screen now as anxiously waits for a response. His stomach twists more and more as he walks, each passing second that he doesn’t get a text back worsening his nervousness.

“Well, Im not really a fan of flying, but if you promise not to drop me, I guess I can think about it” Jasons phone almost falls out of his hands when he jumps at the sound of Nico’s voice right in front of him. Jason was apparently so focused on his screen that he didn’t even notice he had made his way right to the front of the store. Nico must have seen him from the window and decided to come out to greet him.

 Oh god. Now he had to face Nico’s flirting in person. His face was very quickly heating up, and he was sure everyone in a five-mile radius could hear his heart beating as Nico reached for his hand to lead him into the café.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2:30 AM for me, and I should be finishing up a paper thats due for class tomorrow but my attention span is four seconds long, and I just realized that it's technically Wednesday, and I am desperate to do anything but write my damn paper.

It’s scary how little has changed in the last three years, and what’s even scarier is all the things Jason somehow subconsciously remembers.

The offer to play twenty questions is one Nico is way too familiar with. It was Jasons old strategy to work his way up to asking Nico something bigger. Any questions Jason had that he thought were a little more fragile, he would hide behind a series of miniscule, trivial questions. It was his way to get to know Nico better, and to build up his courage before asking for something big. Jason had used this tactic to ask Nico out on countless dates, to confess some things to him, and to ask about some of the darker details of his past. Nico always thought it was sort of endearing.

So, When Jason proposed it this time around, it shook him. He was scared for what Jason could possibly ask him. He was nervous because he wasn’t sure what to ask someone when he practically knows everything about them already. In the end, Nico decided it could be a good experiment to tell just how much of his Jason is still there.

At first, Jason takes the lead, and he’s glad for it. He’s asked for his age. He winces. He didn’t think about how much this would hurt. Jason used to know everything about him, everything, he knew Nico better then anyone else, now he had to ask for something as trivial and basic as his age. It stung a little. Then it’s birthdays. That hurts a bit too. But what really hurts is the topic of favorite colors. He wanted to see, because they both used to have such specific answers. Nico’s is light blue, the very color of Jasons eyes, because looking into them always made him feel like everything was going to be okay.

Jason… Jasons favorite color was midnight blue. It’s always been blue, even before he met Nico, but the color became specific after they started dating. Their first date, Nico wore a midnight blue button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was so nervous about the date, he spent 4 hours shopping with Hazel trying to find a good outfit. It was classy but casual, and Jason really, really liked it. He came to pick up Nico, and when his date opened the front door, Jasons jaw practically dropped. He spent a good minute staring at Nico in the doorway. Once he seemed to come back to reality, and was capable of removing his eyes from Nico’s body, he looked right at him with a dazzling grin, and told Nico he had a new favorite color. 

That shade of midnight blue apparently looked so good on Nico that it became Jasons favorite. It seems that it still is. Jason even admits that he doesn’t have a particular reason for it, that the color just stands out to him. Perhaps somewhere, deep down in his subconscious, he does remember everything.

Nico moves the topic quickly onto books, because he knows Jason used to love to read, and he wants to know if He’s still as much of a nerd as he used to be.

He’s pleased to know that Jason is in fact still a huge dork. He has to withhold a snicker when he says that Jason and the Argonauts is his favorite legend. While it’s true, there used to be a lot of flirty jokes that came with that bit of trivia.

Nico of course dodges the topic of Thalia. He doesn’t want or need Jason associating him with his sister. He never really thought about this before, but if Jason says one word to Thalia, he’s screwed. Everything will blow up. Thankfully, Annabeth told him that Thalia is currently stationed at some crazy job in the middle of nowhere. She won’t have cell service for months. That’ll buy him some time.  He skips that conversation, and it’s probably a bit suspicious, but he knows Jason won’t question it.

They talk about movies, and Nico’s childhood love of pirates. Nico even feels risky enough to send Jason a picture of him as a child, dressed up as a pirate for Halloween. It was the first year he got to go trick-or-treating, Percy and Annabeth got him the costume when they heard he’d never gone. He knows Jasons seen the photo before. Hell, Jason used to have it saved to his phone. He treaded in dangerous waters with that one, but it didn’t seem to trigger anything for Jason, so he’s good. Then they talked about t.v shows and superheroes. He’s surprised when Jason makes an old joke. It’s nothing new for Jason to get called ‘The Blonde Superman’, and Nico always said he was more of a Clark Kent, and this isn’t the first time Jason pulled that cheesy line of calling Nico ‘Lois Lane’. Looking up, and noticing Jason through the window of the shop was a complete accident, but he went with it. Instead of texting back, he went outside to greet Jason, and nearly made him rocket into the air.

Nico quickly led Jason into the coffee shop and out of the cold.

 

“Guess I am early” Jason looks down at him with such a soft, delicate smile, that forces Nico to look away.

“That was not fifteen minutes”

“Im bad at math” Jason jokes, and Nico snickers at him. _No, you’re not._ He thinks. Jason was always pretty decent at math. But he can’t say that out loud without having to explain.

Nico stays with Jason while he orders his coffee, and steps off to the side to wait for it. Of course, it’s his usual cup again. So far today, Nico has learned that the accident and memory loss had no effect on Jasons personal tastes. Which could be bad news for him.

“So what are you doing here so early?” Jason asks when they finally sit down back at Nico’s previous table.

“I am always up early” Nico hums, mentally adding on _Because I never really went to sleep_  “and I like the coffee here” Jason nods in thought, like he’s thoroughly absorbing the information.

“What are _you_ doing here so early?” Nico turns the question back around to Jason, as he pulls his cup to his lips, Jason grins.

“Looking for you, of course” Nico almost chokes on his own coffee.

“Well, you found me” He clears his throat a bit, and nods curtly, setting his drink back down on the table. There’s an awkward silence that sifts through the air between them. Nico impatiently runs his hands over his legs, down to his knees and back up to his lap. He’s waiting for whatever it is Jason wants to tell him. If he was looking for him, then he had to have a reason, right?

“So, I uh…I was wondering if you’re free tomorrow?” Jasons words tumble right out of his mouth, and this time Nico doesn’t need his coffee to choke, the air he breaths gets stuck in his throat, and his eyes go a bit wide.

“My midterms are getting closer and closer and If I don’t get help as soon as possible I don’t know if I am going to pass my Italian class” Jason quickly adds on, realizing that his first sentence sounds a lot like he was asking Nico out on a date. Nico takes in a sharp breath, and slowly nods his head, trying to regain his calm.

“Yeah, I am... I am free tomorrow. Is there anything specific you need help on? Grammar, spelling, vocabulary, sentence structure, verb tenses?”  Jason winces at the long list, and reaches up to rub the back of his neck, like he’s in pain.

“All of the above?” Nico can’t help but laugh.

“Are you having that much trouble?”

“Yeah. I really like the class, it’s a lot of fun, but it’s totally kicking my ass” Jason chuckles a bit with Nico, and Nico revels in the sound.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have you fluent by the end of the semester” Nico jokes back, but instantly regrets it. He realizes that he’s basically promising to keep Jason around for the rest of the year, which isn’t good. He shouldn’t be offering this, he shouldn’t be here with him, acting like they’re friends.

He should have run for the hills the second he saw him,

but Jason always did make him weak in the knees.

Too weak to run.

“I’d love that, but I think I’ll settle for just passing the class with like, a B. I don’t even know why I took this class, but I am determined to do good in it” Jason smile makes his heart flutter, and the evil voice in the back of his head starts echoing _‘Me, you’re taking it for me’._

“Then I’ll make sure you get an A” Nico smiles back, shoving his heart, and that evil little voice, away, so that he can ignore them.

“I really appreciate it” Jasons grin is bright enough to put the sun to shame. “What time do you want to meet tomorrow?”

“Well we could mee-“

“Nico?” The familiar, cold and stern voice has Nico up and out of his chair in seconds.

“Dad?” He turns around to land his eyes on the tall, slender, and pale man that is father. Dressed clean and sharp in a deep black suit and silver tie. His hair is an exact match for Nico’s in style and color, just shorter, and his features are much sharper, his skin is colder, and his eyes much darker. He also very clearly angry, if the tight frown on his lips, and the fire behind his eyes is any indication.

“Hazel told me what happened, so I wanted to come see if you were okay…” His voice is like ice, and his eyes are not on his son, but instead at the very confused Jason Grace now standing behind him.

“How did you know I was here?”

“You weren’t at the apartment, but Reyna was” So Reyna gave him away, great.

This…This Is not good. His dad looks like he’s ready to strangle Jason.

“Uhm” Nico clears his throat, and swivels so he could address Jason.

“Jason, this is my father. Father… This is an… associate of mine... Jason Grace…” Jason seems to wince at the word ‘associate’, and Hayden raises an eyebrow in suspicion.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sir.” Jason hesitantly sticks his hand out, and tries to give Nico’s dad a kind smile. It’s a bad idea, because Nico knows when Hayden shakes Jason’s hand, he squeezes it a bit too hard.

“How long have you known my son, Grace?”

“Not very long, I ran into him a couple days ago” Jason gives what he believes, is an honest answer.  Hayden’s eyes narrow a bit.

“Interesting…” Hayden glances at his son, who gives him a very obvious ‘watch it’ look.

“Well, I am sorry for interrupting your coffee, Grace. But would you mind if I steal my son away from you? We have some important things to talk about” Nico winces, knowing he’s about to have the talk of his life. On the other hand, it might be a good thing to get his father out of here, if he stays much longer, he might actually try to murder Jason.

“Of course. I’ll text you later, Nico?”  Jason gives him a hesitant smile, like he doesn’t want to leave, but it’s been made clear to him that they have to say their goodbyes.

“Yeah, okay, later Jason.” He grabs his coffee off the counter, and follows his dad silently out of the shop. Of course, his dad brought the company car. His father holds open the back door for him, and he greets the family driver, Jules-Albert as he settles in. His father gets in after him, and slams the door shut.

“Back to the apartment, please” Hayden instructs Jules, whose only answer is a curt nod.

“I want an explanation, and I want it now” His father takes a deep breath, and then turns to him. Nico sighs.

“I was walking to class a couple days ago, and I ran into him. Literally. He has no memory of me, or anything else that happened during high school”

“Do you know what happened?” His father hums in thought, Nico shakes his head.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to ask him yet…”

“I am willing to bet Grace and his meddling wife are to blame” His father growls. Hayden has known the Grace family all his life, and they have never, ever gotten along. That’s part of the reason why Jason’s parents were so displeased about their relationship.

Nico’s family on the other hand, while skeptical, only cared that Nico was happy.

“You think?” Nico wouldn’t be surprised if he learned that Jason’s parents where behind everything, but it would still hurt. To think that they hated him that much, and cared for their own son so little that they’d take him away from everything he knew. 

“Son, I’ve seen the way that boy looks it you. Then and now. I don’t think he would have ever left you by choice” His father admits. Originally, his father was not thrilled with the idea of having his only son dating the child of his worst enemy. However, after a while of seeing how happy Jason made Nico, and after learning how little The Graces actually cared about their son, he began to accept their relationship. He put up a good front, constantly threatening Jasons life if he ever dared hurt Nico, but the truth was he had grown fairly fond of him.

Hayden had even accidentally called Jason ‘Son’ once. Jason gushed about it for weeks.

“Are you going to be okay? Are you going to tell him?” Hayden asks. Nico shakes his head.

“I am not okay. It hurts to be near him, to look at him, to talk to him. It hurts to treat him like a stranger… but the idea of telling him the truth scares the crap out of me. I originally was just going to stay away from him, and pretend like it never happened, but he’s making that impossible…” Nico sighs, and Hayden pulls him towards him in a tight hug. There was a time when Hayden wouldn’t even look directly at his son. Nico reminded him too much of Maria, and of Bianca. He finally understands how his father felt all those years ago. Now… Now, after everything Nico has gone through, Hayden has become a model father. He’s learned from his mistakes and he has regret for the past. He loves his children dearly, and he would do anything for them.

“You take your time then son, and figure it out. No one will blame you, no matter what choice you make.” His father soothes him, gently patting his back.

“However. There is nothing I want more than for you to be happy, and you always seemed to be the happiest when he was at your side” Nico groans, annoyed by how similar his father and Percy sound at the moment, and irritated by how true the statement is.

“He seems just fine without me”

“You don’t know what you’re missing if you can’t remember what you had” His father shakes his head.

“Besides, you said he isn’t making it very easy for you to ignore him. It sounds to me like he still needs you in his life, he might not know it, or why, but it seems to me like he is still very much in love with you” His father is painfully on point.

Jason doesn’t remember the reason, but all his feelings are still there.

He still feels the need to learn Italian. He still likes watching bad rom-coms and taking walks and he still loves that same shade of midnight blue.

He doesn’t remember Nico being the reason, but it’s all still there.

Nico needs to know how much is still there.

He needs to know if his father’s assumption is right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I am in love with the idea of Hades being a loving and caring father, and you can fight me on it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 12:30 am which means it is officially saturday, and if i don't post this now, I'll totally forget, and I'll be way too tired to post it when I get home tomorrow, so here you go!

As Jason watches Nico walk away with his father, he hears that cold, deep voice ringing out in his thoughts; _‘Good Job, Son’._ It’s nothing he heard Mr. Di Angelo say, but he swears it’s his voice that booms in his head. He sits back down at the table, and takes another sip of his coffee, trying to shake the thought from his head.

 _It’s probably nothing,_ he tells himself. But it didn’t feel like nothing. None of that felt like nothing. Talking with Nico, sitting with him, that felt so comfortable and familiar, like he had done it a million times before. Looking into the fiery eyes of Nico’s father felt like a familiar moment as well. He was definitely mad, and he was definitely pointing that anger at Jason, and Jason swears that it isn’t the first time he’s been on the receiving end of Mr. Di Angelos death glare. He doesn’t understand though. He doesn’t understand why he would be so angry with him.

  _‘How long have you known my son?’_ He asked. Maybe he thought Nico and Jason were dating, and he was just trying to be a good, protective father… That’s a possibility, but it still doesn’t seem quite right.

Jason can’t quite wrap his mind around it. The ponders on it all the way back to his apartment, even as he makes himself breakfast, and wakes up his flat mates, he wonders about that familiar feeling.

“Did you ask him out on your ‘study’ date yet?” Leo asks, putting air quotes around the study, because he swears Jason is just using the excuse of studying because he’s too chicken shit to ask Nico out on a real date.

“Yeah” Jason nods his head to the question as he pours a glass of orange juice for both him and Piper, who joins them at the table.

“What time are you guys meeting then?” She asks with a yawn, pushing the hair out of her face. Piper’s never been a morning person.

“Sometime tomorrow. His dad showed up before we could settle details…”

“Yooo, his dad showed up?” Leo whistles

“Yeah, he didn’t know though, he was pretty surprised. His dad said his sister told him about something that happened, and he came to see if Nico was okay?” Jason retells what he heard Mr. Di Angelo say.

“Huh, that’s kind of weird. Wonder what happened that made his dad pop in for a surprise visit?” Piper grumbles through her cup of orange juice, Jason shrugs.

“Well, remember I told you about the other day, when I ran into him at the coffee shop? He was on the phone with his sister, and he sounded super upset? When I asked him about it he basically said it was kind of relationship/ break up related? Maybe it’s about that?” He suggests, placing a piece of toast for both of them. Neither of his room-mates are really morning people, so that usually leaves Jason to breakfast duty. He can’t cook much, but fruit, toast, and some scrambled eggs are usually good enough to hold them off until lunch.

“I remember that. But is a breakup really worth a visit from his dad? Unless they’re just that close? Or it’s not hard for his dad to visit?” Leo is all too excited when Jason finally slides the plate of food in front of him, and he starts shoveling eggs into his mouth while he talks. Jason frowns at it.

“Not sure, but whatever it is, He did not seem happy to see me” He slides Piper her plate, and she thanks him for it.

“Why would you think that?” She asks, picking up her fork to pick at her fruit.

“The way he looked at me. He looked pissed. Im pretty sure he might have killed me if we were alone” Jason jokes, Mr. Di Angelo didn’t really seem that mad, well, he did squeeze Jasons hand during their shake like he was threatening to rip it off.

“Seriously? Damn” Leo Chuckles a bit “Maybe he was just being protective over Nico?”

“Probably” Jason hums, poking a bit at his own little plate of scrambled eggs. He still can’t help but feel like that’s not the full truth, and he can still hear his voice echoing at the back of his mind; _‘Good job, Son’_

“You okay, Jace? You’re zoning out?” Jasons head snaps up to look at Piper in confusion. He realizes quickly that she’s right. That he had started to get lost in his own thoughts again, so he nods.

“Yeah, all good” He lies.

“Bullshit” Leo instantly calls him out. “Don’t lie to us, Superman, we’re your best friends. What’s going on in that pretty blond head of yours?” Leo points his fork at him accusingly. Jason sighs in defeat.

“I keep getting that feeling when Im with Nico. He just seems so familiar, and then his dad. I swear I’ve met his dad before, and I keep hearing his voice in my head” He admits, and both his friends nod as they contemplate this.

“What’s he saying?” Piper asks “I mean, when you hear his dads voice, what’s he saying to you?”

“Good Job, Son”

“You sure not mistaking him for someone else? Maybe his voice reminds you of your own dad?”

“I don’t think so. His voice is pretty distinct. Besides, I don’t think my father has ever praised me before in my life” Jason disagrees with a shake of his head, and his friends hum.

“Then maybe you have met him before?”

“But why would he call you ‘Son’?”

“Maybe he was talking to Nico?”

“I don’t know. That’s possible. But I don’t think so…I just feel… I feel like it’s directed towards me? It’s so clear in the back of my mind, I just know it’s was said directly to me” Jason bites down on his lip as he thinks about it, as he lets the words repeat in his thoughts. He’s sure of it. He’s sure those words are meant for him. They just don’t make sense.

“Maybe you really did know Nico before the accident?”

“I feel like it… I feel so drawn to him… and every time im near him, or talking to him, or even thinking about it, it just feels so comfortable and familiar. Everything about him seems so… so _right_ to me…But he doesn’t act like that. He acts like Im a stranger to him, so I must be.” Jasons heart thuds in his chest as he thinks about it. He’s can feel his face starting to heat up as his room-mates stare at him.

“Have you asked him?” Piper raises an eyebrow at him, to which Jason instantly shakes his head.

“I didn’t think to. If I did know him, why wouldn’t he tell me?” Jason can’t think of a single reason why Nico would want to hide something like that. Why would you not want to share your past with someone? If you knew someone, why would you keep it from them?

“I don’t know? Maybe something bad happened between you two?” Leo offers, but that doesn’t settle well with him either. He doesn’t like that idea. If he somehow lost Nico in his old life, then he was a real idiot. If he did something to make Nico hate him, then he’d probably never forgive himself. Nico was just… He can feel it. He can feel it in his gut and in his heart and somewhere in his mind, he knows he needs Nico. If something happened between them that made Nico not want to reconnect, then Jason must have really fucked up. But that doesn’t seem quite right either.

“Then why would he talk to me now? Besides, Nico’s friends acted like they didn’t know me either.” Jason refuses to believe that he could have possibly had Nico in his life once upon a time, and then lost him. He refuses to believe that Nico wouldn’t want to reconnect. No matter what his instincts tell him. No matter how familiar he feels. He can’t except that. That just can’t be the case.

“Alright man, If you say so” Leo gives in, and goes back to eating his breakfast.

“Still, Jace” Piper reaches across the table to pat Jasons hand. “It couldn’t hurt to bring up the subject. You don’t have to ask him, but maybe just bring up your accident, and see how he reacts?” She suggests with a sad smile.

“Yeah… Yeah, alright. I’ll try bringing it up with him” He can agree to that. He doesn’t think there could be any harm in that.

“Good, Now all you have to do is text him and settle the specifics for your date tomorrow”

“Its not a date, leo” He groans, but his phone is already out of his jean pocket, and his fingers are already finding Nico’s name in his recent messages.

“Fine, your ‘study session’ then, Whatever you want to call it, just text him already’”  Leo groans, but Jason’s already sent the text before his friend could finish talking, and just as quickly does he get a response.

**_Sounds good the me.  See you then._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so chapter 10 our of 20???? We're getting pretty close~


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Each time they spend a little less time practicing Italian, and a little more time exploring each-other. They spend more time asking questions and joking around and learning everything they can about each-other. Each time is filled with more smiles and more laughter then the last. Each time they meet, Nico is harshly reminded of just how in love with Jason Grace he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 4 AM which means it's officially Wednesday and I desperately need sleep but I just finished my homework and I needed to calm my brain down somehow.

They met outside the Coffee Shop the next day, at about Ten in the morning. Nico arrived just a few minutes early, but that was alright, because Jason was five minutes earlier then him. They smiled in greeting, clearly happy to see eachother, but that mood went straight down the drain when Jason casually put his hand on Nico’s back to guide him inside, and Nico flinched. Jason pulled his hand away immediately, much to Nico’s disappointment. It’s not that he doesn’t like Jason touching him. On the contrary, actually, he loves it. He’s just not used to it. He thought he would never feel Jason’s hands on him again. He thought that was a feeling long lost. So now ever time he does feel it, it shocks him.

He’s also scared, however, that he’s going to get a little too comfortable with Jason’s touch. That if he let’s himself and Jason get too comfortable with the affection, that one day Jason’s going to put his hand on Nico’s lower back, just like he used to, and on instinct Nico’s going to lean against him, and press his lips to his shoulder. They used to do it all the time, it was what Nico would do when he really wanted to kiss Jason, but he wasn’t comfortable with the PDA. He can’t have that. He has to be careful not to get too comfortable with Jason again. He can’t slip up. Not yet, at least…

“Can you grab my coffee for me? I’ll go set up our table” Nico collects Jason’s Backpack from him before the other could object, and he takes off for the table. After his talk with his father, Nico decided he should find out just how much of his Jason is still there… How much does he really remember? This will be his first, official test. The twenty-question game, that they never technically finished, gave him a good idea, but he needed more. Jason used to know Nico’s taste buds down to the last detail. Jason used to be able to order for his boyfriend anywhere. Nico has the simplest taste in Coffee. That was the first thing Jason got down to memory before.

“Here you go. Wasn’t sure what you wanted so I took a wild guess. Hope it’s okay?” Jason joins Nico at the table with a nervous chuckle as he sets down the cup. Nico cautiously reaches for the cup, blows into it a bit so he doesn’t burn his tongue off, and then takes a little sip.  He looks back up at his nervous... his nervous friend, and gives him a smile.

“It’s perfect” It’s a plain dark roast coffee that Jason probably fixed up himself with a bit of cream. Nico himself probably would have used a bit less, but it’s almost spot on. Nico liked his coffee rich, with just a tad of cream. Jason on the other hand liked his coffee sweet.

Jason sighs in relief and slides into his seat across from Nico.

“So, what have you learned so far?”

“Well The way my professor teaches is she teaches us some vocabulary, and then we learn how to use that specific set of vocabs in different sentences, and then we move on to a different section. We did the alphabet first, and then numbers, then colors, animals, common objects, school related stuff, places, whether, seasons, and now were learning people, like professions, family, friends, and stuff like that” Jason explains as Nico flips through his notebooks. Jason’s notes are still adorably cautious. You can tell he writes down every word from the teachers provided notes, and everything the teacher says as well. It’s all perfectly divided and meticulously color-coded. 

Nico thinks it’s cute, and nerdy, how perfect the notes are. However, no matter how much effort Jason puts into them, there’s apparently no force on earth that can stop his terrible doodling. There’s random drawings here and there through out the book. Mainly stick figures with witty speech bubbles that Nico gets a good laugh out of.

However, in the later pages, the silly little stick figures vanish, and get replaced by cute little hearts and squiggly spirals and question marks and little ghosts. Nico stumbles on those pages, fingers falter over the ink, cheeks burning as his eyes scan over the drawings.

“uh. I have a bad habit of doodling in class when I finish my notes early…” Jason notices Nico staring at the margins of the page, and quickly explains himself. Nico nods his head in understanding, because he knows. Jason’s always doodled like this. He actually thinks it’s kind of cute. And he knows these doodles.

They’re not random markings, they’re code. Well, not really, but in a way. Jason always doodles question marks and those weird spirals when he feels confused or he’s overthinking about something. He always draws hearts when he’s thinking about his friends, or his family. And he always draws that same little ghost figure when he’s thinking about Nico.

“They’re cute” Is all Nico manages to say, he can’t help the smile that pulls up on his lips as that little cartoon ghost stares up at him from the page.

“So how about we go back through your other vocabulary, make sure you got all that down” When he takes his eyes off the book, he finds Jason staring at him with this light blush on his cheeks and this fond smile on his lips. There’s this weird light in his eyes that Nico can’t quite explain, and he’s not really sure if he even wants to understand it.

“That sounds good. I’m pretty sure I’ve got the old ones down, but It definitely would hurt to review them a bit with you” Jason agrees. Nico goes back to the beginning of Jason’s notes. Together they go through all the previous vocabulary Jason learned. Nico makes sure he’s remembered them all correctly, and he fixes his pronunciation on a couple of them. Jason’s accent isn’t the best, but it isn’t terrible. He’s at least trying. They make their way all the way back up to the topic of people. Nico helps Jason get down all the professions the teacher taught him, and as well as the different members of the family.

Every now and then, Jason stops, and hums in thought. He zones out, and his eyes go bright, and a little smile pulls up on his lips. Nico isn’t sure if he’s aware of that trance he goes in, nor is he sure what triggers it, but it happens a good few times.

After about two hours of rigorous studying, and a bit of joking around, Jason offers to buy Nico lunch as a thank you. Nico tries to say no, tries to tell Jason that buying his coffee was enough, but Jason absolutely insists.

“It’s not a big deal. There’s a McDonalds like five minutes from here, if that works? Besides, I don’t think a two-dollar coffee is a worthy payment for your time and help” Jason smiles at him, so bright and cheerful that Nico couldn’t possibly say no.

“You had me at McDonalds” Nico’s lips twitch up into a smile as he pushes out of his chair. They had both finished their coffees long ago, and Nico never did eat breakfast. He does like McDonalds, and he probably should eat lunch. Jason is paying, and it’d be rude to turn down the offer.

He keeps finding different justifications as Jason walks him down the street. The unexplainable feeling of being in the wrong gnawing at the back of his neck. He feels guilty, for some reason. Jason walks so painfully close to him. His left-hand dangling daringly close to Nico’s right. He can tell by the look in his eyes and the slight twitch in his arm that Jason is straining not to touch him. Jason is trying so hard to keep his hands to himself. But why?

Is he just trying to respect Nico’s boundaries? Is he afraid of Nico’s reaction? Was he still hurt because Nico jumped away from him so quickly earlier? Why does he want to be so close? Why does he want to hold Nico so badly? Does he even understand his temptation?

Jason used to touch Nico every chance he got. He was a touchy person, that’s just how he was. Nico allowed it, after a while. Only because he came to desire Jason’s touch just as much as the other wanted his. Only because it was Jason. Jason constantly had a hand on Nico. On his shoulder, his back, his waist. They held hands or locked arms constantly. They sat as close as possible, knees touching, and shoulders pressed together. If they were in the same room, then they were constantly seeking out eachother touch. That instinct is still there. Jason’s hand brushes against his many times, but he never reaches for it. He’s lost the confidence, and assurance. He doesn’t have Nico’s word anymore.

Nico is thankful, and he finds it extremely enduring that Jason is still so respectful of his boundaries. But right now, he wishes Jason had the balls to pull the first move. He wants to hold Jason’s hand, just as much as Jason wants to hold his, but he can’t do it. He can’t bring himself to initiate things with Jason. It was hard for them when they were dating, it’s even harder now, when Jason thinks he’s a stranger.

Maybe that’s why he feels so guilty as the walk together. Because he knows the truth. He knows Jason wants to touch him, and he knows why but he also knows why he can’t.

Nico feels guilty, because he is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All their study sessions go like this. The first. The second. The third. They meet several times in the following weeks. Going over the language, and the given material. Doing everything in preparation for Jason’s midterm that they possibly can. Each time they meet at the coffee shop, and each time they joke around, they flirt a bit and each time Jason gets painfully closer. In little ways. By the Third study date, Jason has Nico’s coffee order down to perfection. By the fourth he sits next to Nico, instead of across from him. On the fifth, he places his hand on Nico’s shoulder and when Nico doesn’t draw away, he keeps it there. On the sixth, he hugs Nico in greeting and Nico nearly melts, so they hug again when they part. Each time they spend a little less time practicing Italian, and a little more time exploring eachother. They spend more time asking questions and joking around and learning everything they can about eachother. Each time is filled with more smiles and more laughter then the last. Each time they meet, Nico is harshly reminded of just how in love with Jason Grace he is.

They don’t have a scheduled meeting the day before the midterm, but that doesn’t stop Jason from finding Nico regardless.

Nico’s sitting in the nearest public park. His back against a shady tree and a heavy book in his lap as he studies for his own midterms. He’s hallway through his literature book, and near ready to roll over and face-plant into the grass when someone plops down besides him.

“Man, you look like death” He hears Jason chuckle, and he nudges Nico’s slumping form upright with his shoulder.

“I am death” Nico groans in response, dropping his head back against the uncomfortable tree bark, instead of on Jason’s shoulder like he wants to. In the new found comfortable company, Nico let’s his eyes flutter shut. He doesn’t actually bother to look at Jason. Just knowing he’s there is enough for him.

“Dramatic as ever” He laughs. The sound a sweet lullaby to Nico’s exhausted brain.

“I stayed up till 3 AM to write an eight-page history paper on literally the most boring subject ever, and now I got to cram this entire book in my head before tomorrow” He lets out a deep sigh, as he recalls the worst of his mid-term blues, knowing that there’s also much more on his plate. He has two other papers due, and three more tests to take.

“You sound pretty drained…” Jason hums in thought, and Nico nods his head, because yes. Yes, he is.

“Guess it’s a good thing I brought you some soul fuel then, huh?” Nico’s eyes snap open faster then the speed of light to find a paper bag hanging in front of his face. His hands grab at the familiar yellow ‘M’ logo like some kind of desperate goblin. He yanks open the fast food bag and is met with the holy set of chicken nuggets and overly salted fries.

“God Bless your soul, Jason Grace” He breathes in the scent. Realizing that he’s not just tired, but also extremely hungry.

“I also brought you an iced coffee” He looks down at the ground to find two large cups wedged in the grass. His favorite iced coffee clearly labeled and glistening in the cold October air.

“You saint” Nico gasps, eyes finally leaving his meal to smile up at Jason, who’s already staring at him with the fondest smile.

“’Saint’ is exaggerating a bit. I think I’m more of a ‘Hero,’ or maybe that’s just my names sake” He teases, so Nico pushes their shoulders together.

“Name sake or not, right now, you’re _my_ hero” He teases him right back, and it’s worth it to see the hue of pink that spreads over his hero’s cheeks.

“I just… You went out of your way to help me prep for my Italian test, and that’s my only test left. So, I figured with my free time I should try and help you out a bit, you know? Reyna told me where you where….” Jason stumbles to explain his actions, and trails off eventually, as Nico just gives him an endearing smile. How Jason could always be so caring and thoughtful, he never understood.

“That’s really sweet, Jace… Thanks…” it’s Nico’s turn to start blushing, as he thinks about the gesture. Jason went out of his way to think about him. He went out of his way to find him and bring him lunch and a coffee and to spend time with him. Just to make sure Nico wasn’t being crushed under the weight of his midterms.

“Anytime…” Jason’s voice goes quite and low. They snack in silence. Getting a bit playful after a while. It starts with Jason stealing one of Nico’s chicken nuggets, and Nico throwing one of his fries at Jason’s face. They sneak sips of each other’s drinks. Nico liking to break the pattern of bitter and salty with the sweet taste of Jason’s soda, and Jason occasionally needing the pick-up of the bitter caffeine Nico’s coffee offered.

Nico expects Jason to take off when they finish eating, but he doesn’t. He stays by Nico’s side. Letting him continue his reading, busying himself on his phone, or occasionally asking Nico a question.

“You know what” Half an hour later, Nico gives up, slamming his book shut. “If I look at this for another minute, Im going to go insane” He sighs in irritation, but it’s calmed by Jason’s smooth laughter.

“Then take a break” He offers, as if they’re lunch didn’t count as a break, but the sound is too appealing to argue or decline.

“Sounds good to me” He hums, gently shutting his eyes again. They feel tired and dry from so many hours of staring at white paper pages.

“How about you practice your Italian with me? Give me something to focus on other than outdated literary terms.” He asks. Jason’s Italian teacher gave the midterm in two categories; speaking and writing. So, Jason not only had to do a 50 question, fill-in-the-blank test, he also had to stand in front of the teacher, and verbally respond to certain questions. The questions were asked in Italian, and he had to respond in Italian.

“Okay. Do you remember the kind of questions she’s gonna ask?” Nico nods his head. They were basic questions. He would have to say hello and present himself. He’d answer questions like; what day is? What is the weather like? What is your favorite color? What are you wearing? Do you have any pets? Do you like to do for fun? What classes do you take? What is your dream job? What is your family like? A question that would cover the basis of everything the teacher had taught them so far, basically. Easy enough.

So, Nico greets Jason in Italian, and Jason greets him back in Italian. It makes him smile. Admittedly, he loves the way Italian sounds on his tongue. He’s not the best at it. He can’t form certain sounds and he struggles on certain words. His accent is noticeably forced and definitely not the greatest. Nico loves it regardless. Maybe it’s just the sound of the love of his life speaking in his home language, or maybe it’s just because he knows all this effort was originally for his sake. Maybe it’s the combination of both. Whatever the reason, hearing Jason speak his broken, forced version of the Italian langue, makes Nico incredibly happy.

Nico goes through a couple questions. Simply reveling in the sound, instead of paying attention to any possible mistakes or errors. It’s around the fifth question, when he asks Jason what his favorite color is, that he lets his head drop down onto Jason’s broad shoulder to rest. It’s much more comfortable then the harsh bark behind him, and it’s warm.

Nico’s heart all but leaps out of his chest when with the next question and answer, Jason places his hand over Nico’s, and intertwines their fingers.

Without thinking about it, Nico moves onto another question, one that’s clearly not on Jason’s curriculum.

“I don’t… I don’t think I know what that means?” He asks, slowly after a minute or so of rolling the question around in his mind. There where plenty of words in the sentence that Jason should know, but he probably can’t piece them altogether to form a coherent question.

“I asked if you want to go to Percy’s Halloween part with me. I know it’s kind of last minute, but he throws a huge one every year and I thought maybe… Maybe you’d like to go? With me?” he’s already second guessing himself. It feels awkward enough trying to ask him out on a pseudo-date as it is, Jason’s stunned silence doesn’t help.

“Are you gonna dress up as a pirate again….” His voice comes out as a low whisper, his thumb gently running back in forth on the top of Nico’s hand.

“Not if you’re gonna make fun of me for it” He snorts back, unconsciously shuffling a bit closer. The Halloween party was two days away, the day after their last midterm. He hadn’t actually thought of a costume. He was too worried about how he was going to ask Jason to go with him to even consider his costume choices.

“I wasn’t gonna make fun of you for it… You make a cute pirate” Jason Grace is absolutely trying to kill him at this point, he’s sure of it. He’s glad he’s kept his eyes closed, because this way he doesn’t have to see the ridiculous grin he knows Jason is giving him, and he doesn’t have to see Jasons reaction to the undeniable blush on his face.

“Will you go or not?” It’s sort of hard to talk when his heart has jumped up, and jammed itself in his throat, but he manages.

“yeah, of course I’ll go” He sighs in relief, and Jason squeezes his hand ever so lightly. Despite knowing that Jason wouldn’t say no to him, he was still scared he would. He was still nervous and still worried. Because he decided days ago that there’s nothing left he can do. He’s still hopelessly in love with Jason Grace, and there’s nothing that’s going to change that. No matter what’s happened, no matter what there past is, he is in love with Jason. All of him. The old him. The new him. Because no matter what, Jason is still Jason. Still _his_ Jason, and he still loves him.

He figured that out a while ago.

Now he just needs to figure out how to tell Jason that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nico's emotions are a little all over the place here, at least in my opinion. I usually don't like time skips, but it felt appropriate here when I first wrote this. That was months ago now, it's too late and I am too tired to try and fix things now. Im sure I wrote it this way originally for a reason, at least, I hope so... I  
> I've been trying really hard to only look for grammatical errors and stuff like that before posting, I know once I start, I'll end up editing and re-writing everything. Which is fine when I go chapter, but considering i prewrote this, I have a feeling if I tried, I'd end up fucking up something important.  
> Anyway! I hope you liked this chapter! 9 more to go!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lesson of the month: Never trust Percy Jackson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omfg, Im so sorry. I almost forgot that it was Saturday! I got so caught up in family stuff and work and school work that I nearly forgot to post today! My bad! Well, at least it's still technically Saturday, I am not late yet~

“Sexy nurse?”

“No.”

“Sexy Doctor?”

“No.”

“Sexy teacher?”

“No.”

“Sexy police officer?”  
“No.”

“Sexy Firemen?”

“No”

“Sexy vampire”

“No”

“Sexy angel?”

“That sounds very contradictory?”

“Sexy Devil?”

“Better, but no”

“Sexy unicorn?”

“A sexy what?”

“A sexy unicorn.”

“Unicorns are not sexy”

“This one is”

“Im not wearing a unicorn costume of any kind”

“Fine, what about a sexy pirate?”

“I was a pirate last time”

“But not a sexy pirate?”

“Why do I have to be sexy?”

“because Jasons coming? Duh?”

That’s where Nico nearly lost his mind. He was so close to just banging his head against the wall, so Percy would stop talking. His friend had insisted they go shopping, the day before the party, to get Nico a new costume. They’ve only been in the store for ten minutes, it’s heavily crowded, and Percy won’t stop pointing at different costume suggestions, none of which Nico would actually be caught dead wearing. Not to mention the fact almost everything Percy pointed out was for females and had very little fabric. Percy, for some reason, decided that Nico should try and be ‘sexy’ for Jason.

“Im not trying to seduce him, Percy” Nico grumbles. He’d rather not think about that aspect of their relationship. Sex was a topic he wasn’t willing to touch with a ten-foot pole right now. Jason was his first, and technically, his only. Even when Nico tried to move on, he could never get to that final base with other people. No matter how drunk he got, or how out of it he was. He always dipped out when someone tried to touch him without a layer of cloth between them. He tried, he really did. But it only took him so long to realize that they weren’t Jason. No one was Jason, and Jason was the only person he ever really wanted to touch him. That means Nico hasn’t had sex in three years. He hasn’t felt another person’s touch like that in three years. He’s been trying really hard not to think about that, and how touch starved he is. He tries not to remember Jason’s touch like that, tries not to think to long about how Jason would kiss him on certain nights.

“I know you don’t need to seduce him, it’s Jason. You could wear a potato sack and he’d still somehow get hard for you. I just think it’d be funny to watch him be flustered all night. Besides, me and Annie have a bet running on how long he’s able to keep his hands to himself, you wear something like this? And I become twenty bucks richer by the end of tomorrow night” Percy dangles the sexy pirate costume package in front of his eyes, and Nico pushes it away with a grunt, a bright blush blooming on his face. It’s hard not to think about it when Percy is so clearly insinuating it. He’s not wrong though, Jason, the dork that he was, found Nico beautiful in the weirdest of states. Nico after the gym all sweaty and out of breath with his hair plastered to his face was somehow attractive to him. Nico, fresh out of bed on a Monday morning in sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt with his hair sticking up at every end and a glare on his face sharp enough to kill a man was somehow ‘cute’ to Jason. So, he’s not sure why he’s so worried about picking the right costume.

“I am not wearing that. I am not wearing anything sexy.” He shakes his head, and Percys lips pull into an exaggerated pout.

“You’re no fun”

“You’re annoying” He counters, crossing his arms over his chest. Percy puts the sexy pirate costume back, with much grumbling, and they continue to loop around the store. They get distracted for a few minutes, trying on the weird horror masks to make stupid jokes, or trying to duel eachother with the foam swords.

“Hey! How about a prisoner. You can be a prisoner, and Jason could be a cop. Not like skimpy or anything, but still sexy”

“How would that be sexy?” He agrees that Jason would look really hot in a uniform like that, but he doesn’t exactly get why it would be sexy for him to be a prisoner.

“One word; Handcuffs” Percy pulls a pair of shiny fake handcuffs from the wall of costumes and jingles it in the air. Realizing what he’s implying, Nico’s face goes red once again. He contemplates it. Like he actually thinks about it for a second. Jason would look really good in that uniform, and the flirty opportunities are…intriguing…

“I don’t think we’re doing a couple’s costume” Nico shakes his head. Finally finding an excuse against it. He and Jason never discussed that. They just both agreed they would dress up. Jason could already have a costume, for all he knows.

“Then ask him! Call him right now”

“He’s in class right now… I’ll just text him, but I don’t think he’ll respond” Nico’s already got his phone out, and he’s already got a message typed up

**_Hey, do you have a costume for the party already?_ **

Much to his surprise, Jason texts back almost instantly

**No, I was going to go shopping after class. Why?**

**_Percy and I are at the Halloween store right now. Do you want us to pick you one?_ **

**If you could, that’d be great. What did you have in mind?**

**_It’s a surprise. What size are you._** He grins, and Percy laughs happily because he’d actually getting his way for once. He likes the costumes, only because he’s getting pout of having to wear something scandalous, and he gets to see Jason in a very attractive uniform. Seeing Jason in it will be worth the innuendos Percy will probably make all night. Though, now that he has the option of getting Jason’s costume for him, he almost considers getting him a superman costume. That would make him Lois Lane though, and he doesn’t feel like wearing a pencil skirt and heels.

“Neeks, they don’t have your size” Percy draws his attention away from his phone, where was trying not laugh at Jasons over use of emojis.

“Seriously? Crap…” Nico sighs, watching Percy shuffle through all the prisoner costumes.

“It’s cool nicky, I’ll piece something together for you, don’t worry. I think I have one from a few years back” Percy grabs a couple things off the shelf.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, trust me, Nico, I have just the thing”  His eyes narrow suspiciously at the sly grin that pulls up on Percys lips.

“Nothing Weird, Perce?” He questions, and Percy nods.

“Nothing weird.”

“Fine… but no skirts, no dresses, no tights, no fishnets, no heels, okay? And it better be a guy’s costume. No more sexy girl costumes” He warns, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.

“Yeah, okay, I get it Nico. None of that, I promise.” Percys smile shifts, trying to look as innocent as possible, green eyes glinting with excitement. Nico decides to trust him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lesson of the month is to never trust Percy Jackson, as Nico very quickly realized an hour before the party.

“What is this?” Nico asks, tossing the outfit across the room to smack Percy in the face. It had been laid out for him in their guest bathroom. Nico took one look of it before he deiced that he didn’t like it.

“Your costume” That classic, devilish, Percy grin appears as the pieces of cloth are tossed back at him.

“I said nothing sexy!”

“Actually” Percy counters, stepping up close to Nico, abandoning nhis place next to Annabeth in his kitchen.

“You said; no skirts, no dresses, tights, fishnets and no heels. And you said it couldn’t be a girls ‘sexy’ costume. And it’s not. It’s a boys, and those my friend? Are shorts. I followed all your rules” Nico groans, clenching up the fabric in his hands. He oughta punch Percy In the gutt for pulling this, but hes not wrong. He actually did follow every one of Nico’s instructions. It’s a clever, thought out plan. He’s been spending too much time with Annabeth.

“Im not wearing this” He glances down at the lack of material in his hands, before shaking his head vigorously.

“Then you have no costume” Fuck. He has forty minutes to finish getting ready. He promised Annabeth he would help her clean and put out snacks, and she didn’t deserve to be abandoned because of her boyfriend’s dumb decisions. He doesn’t have any costumes at his apartment, and theres no time to go to the costume shop, or to his dad’s house. If Percy thought all this out, then he probably also he hid his other costumes already too.

“Fine” He stalks away, back to the bathroom to change, but he can feel Percy’s eyes watching him triumphantly.

“Note to self…” Nico whispers as he tugs the costume on. “Percy gets a pile of coal for Christmas…” Completely dressed, Nico stares at the mirror in regret. Black shorts that are tight and too…well... short. They’re basically booty shorts. The top Percy had left him was a half-sleeved button up shirt with clashy black and white horizontal stripes. ‘The right breast had an inmate number on it’. He supposes it could be worse. It could be one of those awful neon orange jump suits. Nico hates the color orange. It does, admittedly, show off his body. The knee high black and white stripped socks he tugs on make his long legs stand out. That’s as far as we was going with the costume, the little black cap left for him too wear was not optional, and went straight in the trash.

“Percy, I look incredibly fucking…” The words he was going to say get lost, and his voice dies out.

“Wow, looking good Nicky! Look who came early to help set up!” Nico reenters the kitchen to come face to face with Jason Grace. Jason Grace… in dark blue and black uniform. Tight pants and a shirt unbuttoned one too many buttons to peek at his strong chest. Thick black belt around his hips carrying a fake walkie talkie, a plastic baton, and those cursed handcuffs Percy bought. Shiny artificial badge pinned to his chest, and the sheriffs hat tipped slightly forward on his head.

Jason looks painfully attractive. Undeniably sexy in that dumb costume. Nico might actually need to thank Percy, instead of punching him in the gutt.

“Do you not like your costume?” Jason is the first to break their silence, and the staring contest Nico hadn’t realized they’d begun. “Because I think you look…” He hesitates for a second, stunning blue eyes flickering over Nico’s exposed skin “You look really good”

“So do you…” Nico mumbles out a response, once he remembers how to breathe again.

“Yes, yes, you both look great. So could you stop ogling eachother and help us?” Annabeth interrupts, stealing both of their attention away, as she gestures to all the snacks she has pulled out.

“I need chips and bowls, dip needs to be made, and punch needs to be stirred” She gives her commands, and they all get back to work, but not before Nico steals one more glance, only to see that Jason had the same idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I am not sure who’s more terrifying” Jason mutters to Nico, as they collapse on Percys couch together. They finished helping with preparations, given five minutes to spare before people start to arrive. They simultaneously, and silently agreed to rest in the living room and enjoy the alone time while it exists.

“Reyna or Annabeth?” Jason muses. They had shared many glances, and quite jokes in the kitchen. Annabeth gave orders like she was commanding an army. Pouring chips into a bowl seemed somehow got turned into a tactical war strategy.

“Forbidden Question, Jace. That’s the kind of thing you learn the hard way” Nico teases back, trying to nonchalantly shift closer to his old boyfriend.

“You’re right. They could both surely kill me in under five seconds. But Reyna would look me in the eyes as she murders me, and Annabeth? I probably wouldn’t even know she’s there. Both are equally terrifying” He jokes, and Nico nods in agreement, because Jason isnt wrong. Both girls are powerful forces that should never be reckoned with.

“Definitely…”One more glance at Jason, one look at those striking eyes and those soft lips and Nico nearly cracks.

“Hey, Jace?” Jason is already looking at Nico, but something in his eyes lights up. Like lightning striking through a storm cloud.

“Thanks for coming. It’s going to be a really fun night, I promise” Much to his surprise, Jasons right hand slowly slides over, to rest on top of Nico’s left hand. He nearly melts away at the gesture, his heart beating at a hundred miles per hour.

“You two comfortable?” Nico opens his mouth to say something, anything in regards to Jasons move, but he is interrupted by Percy, who’s suddenly leaning over the back of the couch, face shoved in-between them.

“Yeah, thanks Perce” Jason looks up at the mischievous boy with a kind smile, but his hand doesn’t dare from Nico’s, in fact, Jason squeezes Nico’s hand.

“Great! People should be rolling in any second now…” Percy glances towards the front, and then to Nico, something unreadable glinting in those deep green eyes.

“Oh, and Nico. I forgot a part of your costume” He says, and Nico raises an eyebrow at him.

“If you’re talking about the stupid little cap, you didn’t forget it, I just refused to wear it. It’s in your bathroom trash” He responds, but Percy shakes his head and clicks his tongue.

“Not talking about the hat. I’m talking about the piece that really brings your costumes together. This” and before Nico, or Jason, can register what’s happening, Percy has leaned even further over the couch to reach in-between them, and clamp something around their hands. Nico hisses as the cold metal of handcuffs encircles his left wrist, attaching him to Jason’s right side.

“There we go, that’s better” Percy hums in delight, and Nico realizes, as he tugs at the locked chains in shock and defeat, that it is going to be a very, very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this, I remember looking around at different couples costumes for something that would be funny, and then I saw the cop and the prisoner and I couldnt resist. I thought it was hilarious due to my other au. And tbh? It's still funny to me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make the most out of it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Look, I am really sorry I missed both updates last week. A lot went down in my life, mainly bad, but there was a little good. Wednesday I woke up too late to post in the morning, and when I finally got home, i crashed. Saturday I worked all day and had to deal with some family stuff. Everything before, after, or in-between was either filled or was taken up my something else.   
> I really hate missing scheduled updates, especially considering this story is pre-written. It still usually takes me 30 to 45 minutes to post, because I give it a quick read through and some editing, and then writing out the summary and the chapter notes take me a bit sometimes too... So again, really sorry about that guys, that's why Im posting today. I finally had a bit of freetime to double check this chapter and post it. I hope to get back on track this week with the usual updating cycle. Again, really sorry guys.

Jason isnt sure whether or not to punch Percy Jackson or Hug him. Thankfully, Nico makes up his mind for him.

“You’re dead, Jackson!” Nico suddenly snarls, staring down at the cuffs that link them together. He twists, and leaps forward a bit to reach for Percy, effectively yanking Jason with him.

“Ouch. Harsh, Nicky. I’ll wait then, you can thank me later!” Nico manages to knick Percy in the shoulder, but their green-eyed friend just laughs it off, and scutters away to put his own costume on.

“Im sorry about this…” Nico groans, plopping back down on the couch, much closer to Jason then before. He shakes his wrist, jingling the silver chain that connects them. “Percy can be a real pain sometimes” He’s frowning. His eyebrows are drawn together, making his forehead and nose crinkle up, and the slight puff of his lips forms a bit of a pout. Altogether, Jason thinks it’s one of the cutest things he’s ever seen, as he has the strangest urge to plant a kiss on Nico’s temple.

“Don’t worry, We can get him back for it later” Jason suppresses the urge with a smile, and by gentle nudging Nico’s shoulder with his own, that earns him a smile back.

“Sounds good… You wouldn’t uhm… You wouldn’t happen to know how to pick a lock, do you?” Nico asks, and Jason shakes his head. Even he did know how, he wouldn’t. He likes the idea of Nico being stuck to his side… Though he’d like it more if Nico didn’t sound so upset about it.

“Sorry, guess were stuck like this till Percy decides to unlock us?” Nico just shrugs, once again scowling down at the cuffs.

“Or… I might know two special people who can pi-“

“Don’t bother, Percy called the Stolls last night and payed off both of them. They’re not even allowed to talk to you” Annabeth buts in from the kitchen, and Nico lets out a loud groan.

“How did he even think of that?”

“Honestly, Percy’s been planning this for over a week. He’s thought of everything. I’m surprisingly proud of him” She chimes, and Nico huffs in annoyance, glancing over at Jason wearily, like he’s afraid if he stares too long, Jason’s going to do something awful. He doesn’t understand why Nico would look so threatened by him. He thought they were finally getting along. After all the study sessions and their little text conversations, Jason thought he was finally in a good position with Nico. He was even working the nerve to ask Nico out on a date and tell him about the accident. Maybe he was wrong…

“Im sorry… Percy can be… really stupid sometimes…” Nico’s voice is so soft, Jason worries for a second that he might cry, but then he realizes that Nico is just embarrassed and… Shy? He looks so shy in this moment, unable to keep Jasons gaze, only sneaking glances with his cheeks burning red and his lips drawn in worry.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I planned to spend the whole time with you anyway, so this isnt much different then what I expected” He tries to keep the mood light, giving Nico a gentle smile.

“You’re uh… You’re okay with this?”

“I mean, it’s not ideal. I’d rather you chose to be with me then be literally stuck to me, and it might make moving around awkward. But It’s not so bad…” Nico finally looks at Jason, wholly, Dark brown eyes locking onto electric blue, and he gives a soft smile.

“You’re right… You know, I think this could actually work”

 

 

 

 

 

And surprisingly, they did make it work. Well, they certainly used it to their advantage. Annabeth was nice enough to bring them some ‘punch’, which was really just strawberry lemon-aide with a lot of vodka, and then for the next hour, they avoided the entirety of the party. They used the handcuffs as an excuse to stay on the couch and ignore everyone that came to talk to them. It turns out, Nico isnt much of a party person, and was really only there because Percy insisted. Jason himself was only there because Nico asked him to be. Neither of them really wanted to be there, and they used their handcuffs as an excuse to not participate in pretty much everything.

They stayed by eachother side, slowly sipping at their ‘punch’, just talking, asking questions, laughing. They weren’t even really doing anything, and yet it’s some of the most fun Jason has had in a long time. He could blame it on the vodka, but he knows he hasn’t had enough for the alcohol to really affect him yet. Nico himself is Jasons current poison. His preferred poison too.

“Woah, careful there, Nicky” Jason laughs when Nico tries to get up to get them some snacks and stumbles. Jason goes to support him, but he winds up just pulling Nico down, and into his lap.

“I havent heard that in a while” Nico whispers, with a soft laugh. He doesn’t seem bothered by his new positions. In fact, he relaxes a bit, and twists to make himself more comfortable. He sits sideways in Jasons lap, their cuffed hands resting in his lap, and he leans his head on Jasons shoulder and hums ever so quietly. Jason, on the other hand, while just as content, also feels like his heart is going to explode.

“What? ‘Nicky’? doesn’t Percy call you that all the time, though?” He aks, and Nico justs nods his head.

“Not the same though…” He mumbles, and it’s so quiet, so gentle, that Jason almost doesn’t hear it. But he does. And it has his mind spinning.

“I thought no one was allowed to call you that?” The back of the couch gives as someone leans over it to peak at Nico’s face. Jasons uncuffed arm instinctively slithers around Nico’s waist to pull him closer, not liking the look he finds on the stranger’s face when he looks up.

“People still call me that…” Nico hesitates, his eyes are wide as he stares at the intruder. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and a soft surfers tan. Something about him… Something about the way he looks at Nico, and something about the way Nico looks at him… something about it makes Jasons stomach twist.

“Not romantically. You never let me call you that” and there it is, as simple as that. The very thing Jason was afraid to hear. An Ex-Boyfriend. Why it bothered him so much, he’s not sure. Dating is a pretty normal thing, and Nico did tell him he was having romantic problems when they first talked. But the idea of Nico dating this guy, dating anyone, for some reason, really bugged him. Jealousy? Envy?

“It’s not like that” Nico shakes his head, but his voice is hesitant. Like he knows he’s lying. Had Jason said that romantically? Did Nico take it as being romantic? He was sitting in Jason’s lap after all, and that doesn’t seem like something he’d usually be comfortable with….

“No one’s called you that, like that, since…” All of a sudden, blue eye go wide and they begin scanning over Jason.

“You know what, Im sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I know you’re sensitive about that… Im gonna go find the Stolls… I’ll uh… see you around, Nico, I guess?” He’s quick to make an apology, and an excuse to leave, but he takes one quick glance at Jason from over his shoulder before he disappears from the living room, probably going to join the others on the back porch.

“An Ex-boyfriend?” Jason asks, after a couple seconds of silence. Nico nods, sddenly very tense in Jasons lap. He does his best to ease that, by rubbing gentle circles into the top of Nico’s hand with his thumb, and tugging him a bit closer with his other arm.

“We broke up a couple months ago… We only dated for a couple weeks…” If That guy wasn’t the breakup Nico was dealing with when they first met, then who was?

“Bad breakup?”

“No, we ended on pretty mutual terms. We both realized that we just didn’t work well as a couple… and I wasn’t really ready to date yet…” Jason’s heart feels like a bomb. Each word ticks down a timer, ready to burst at any second. Problem was, Jason wasn’t sure what the word was that he was waiting for. He didn’t know what the trigger was.

“Was it… was it becomes of your first boyfriend? The one Percy mentioned when I went to movie night” and the one that guy was probably about to mention too. The mention of that. That first mysterious boyfriend that seemed to mean everything to Nico. That made his stomach twist, but he doesnt understand why. 

“Yeah… After… After I lost him… I just wasn’t able to date anyone…He was the only one I wanted, no matter who I was with, I couldn’t forget him” His grip on Nico instinctively tightens, and the boy, surprisingly in response, lays his head back down on Jasons shoulder.

“and now?” he’s hoping. He’s really hoping for a good answer, because he needs to hear one. He cares too much about Nico, feels too much for him. Everything with Nico just feels so right for him to ignore. He would, if he really had to, to make Nico comfortable, he would do it. So long as he has Nico in his life, he’ll be happy, but he would prefer something more then friendship.

“The circumstances have changed…” Nico whispers into his shoulder, but he doesn’t know what that means. What circumstances? How did they change? Why? Does it mean Jason has a shot?

But when he looks down at Nico, when he looks at him to ask, and he finds Nico staring up at him with wide, glistening brown eyes, all those thoughts fly out of his head.

All thoughts in general fly out of his head, and there’s only one thing he can think of:

_Kiss him_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7 more chapters to go....


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He feels the ghost of Jason’s breath, hot and familiar and welcoming, right up against his own lips, and suddenly everything comes crashing down on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaannnddd I missed the update schedules. again. I am really sorry guys. Life is kind of kicking my ass. But! Today is the start of my spring break! Which means I only have to deal with work and family. Schools out of the picture for a bit, so I should have a bit more time, and I should totally be able to post on Wednesday without a problem!   
> So sorry for making you guys wait though~

_Nico remembers that Halloween so clearly. It was his first actual high school dance. He was very ecstatic that he wouldn’t have to wear some tight, fancy suit, and he was even more ecstatic that Jason was his date. Getting together a pirate costume was easy, and fun for him. He hadn’t expected Jason to match him though. Jason never actually told him what his costume was going to be, so when Nico opened his front door to find Jason dressed to the nines like some kind of regal pirate captain, he nearly had a heart attack. It’s not that Nico had never appreciated his boyfriends looks before, he was always well aware that Jason broke the definition of handsome. But in that costume, Jason was painfully attractive. He was hot enough to make Nico sweat. Jason apparently mirrored his thoughts, because he couldn’t keep his hands off of Nico. Taking full advantage of Hazel having left for the dance early, and Hayden being away on business, they made out in the hallway for a good ten minutes before ever saying a word to eachother like the desperate, horny teenagers they were. Jason had closed the door, pressed Nico up against the wall, stole one long and harsh kiss from his lips before moving on and leaving love bites on Nico’s neck that were seen and felt for the rest of the week. They barely managed to pull apart to get in the car and actually get to the school. For the first time in forever, Nico went unaffected by the large crowds, and the relentless teasing he received about Jason’s bite marks seemed worth it, all because Jason laid his hand on Nico’s lower back when they stepped through the doors, and never once did he remove it. It was his boyfriend’s way of letting him know he wasn’t alone, that he was right there. It was the gesture to show him that Jason quite literally had his back. It was one of the best feelings in the world._

_The night was fun. Filled with laughter and joking and subtle touches. But nothing was better then the photobooth. It was Percy’s idea. One of his few good ideas, really. He said that since they looked so cute together, in their matching costumes, that they should take pictures in the photobooth. He was entirely right; the resulting pictures were perfect. They became some of his favorite photos because you can see just how in love they were. Jason barely looked at the camera. He only looked at Nico, looking proudly at the marks he had made, looking fondly at the soft but rare smile Nico had on his face. When Nico finally looked up at Jason, the look they shared screamed volumes. ‘I love you’ It screamed, and next thing they knew, Nico was tugging Jason in for a kiss, and they were in there long enough for Annabeth to have to march in and drag them both out by the ears. Jason had stolen the photo booth slip before he ever saw it and gave it to Nico as a present a week later, now covered in little themed stickers. He holds onto that picture slip for dear life. Everything about that Halloween was dear to him, and it was a very important, silent milestone in their relationship. Maybe that’s why Nico brought Jason to Percy’s party this year…._

 

 

Nico gets lost in his thoughts. He loses track of everything around him and he’s not sure if she blames it on Annabeth’s punch or Jason’s touch. He can’t tell if what he’s done tonight was a smart choice, or a dumb mistake. Isolating himself to only Jason was nice, it made him feel more comfortable, but it also led to this. It led to Nico lying comfortably in Jason’s lap, head pressed against his shoulder, leaning into the warmth Jason offers him. Jason’s got his arms looped tight around Nico’s waist, rubbing reassuring circles into his hip. It’s so intimate and personal and so painfully them, and it’s too much. He shouldn’t be doing this much with Jason. He wanted them to get closer tonight, sure, he wanted to test the waters. See if Jason could poke out their relationship, see if it triggers any memories. This was too much. Holding eachother like this, all nuzzled up. It’s almost as if they were never separated. Jason’s touch as it always was. Comforting and warm and ever present. They still fit so perfectly together, Nico’s head a wonderful fit to lay pleasantly on Jason’s shoulder, right by the crook of his neck, at the ideal distance to easily press gentle little kisses against Jason’s neck.

But Nico knows better. He knows things have changed, and while it’s so close, it’s just not the same, because Jason doesn’t understand. His body does. Jason’s body reacts to Nico as if it’s never known anything else and doesn’t want to, but Jason’s mind is still so lost and confused. He still doesn’t know Nico. He can do all the actions, make every move, but he still doesn’t know why he is.

 

“Nico?” He had gotten so lost in his thoughts, he realizes, that he had gone silent and still. He’d also been too gone to notice the way Jason’s gaze on him had settled with an indescribable glistening intensity, or how His face had grown increasingly closer to Nico’s own. It’s the delicacy of Jason’s voice that brings Nico back to earth. That makes him return Jason’s gaze. His body seems to realize something his brain doesn’t, because his heart starts to thump heavily against his chest, and his breath, along with his words get trapped in his throat. The only answer he can give Jason is a look, a simple, hopeful look that lets Jason know he’s listening.

“Nico… Can I kiss you?” He didn’t think it was possible for Jason’s voice to get any quieter, or any softer. It was nothing but a gentle whisper, a sound only for Nico. He gets so lost. So, lost in the way Jason sounds, so familiar, so intimate. Those are words Nico’s heard a thousand times from Jason Grace and every single time they make his head spin. He’s locked onto Jason’s gaze. Those crystal blue eyes jumping to life like lightning as he switches his focus between dark brown eyes and soft pale lips. Nico doesn’t register when Jason leans down, closer, his face barely an inch away. He can’t tell if time is moving in slow-motion, or if it’s moving in double. The world around them seems dead. All he really sees is bright blue. Nothing seems to be connecting in his mind. Not their surroundings, not Jason’s words, or his hesitant surge forward. Nothing seems to click for Nico, until it’s nearly to late.

He feels the ghost of Jason’s breath, hot and familiar and welcoming, right up against his own lips, and suddenly everything comes crashing down on him. “I can’t!” He gasps, scrambling out of Jason’s lap, and onto the couch next to him. Out of embarrassment, he turns away, suddenly unable to look at his lost love. _That was too close._ His heart is banging against his ribcage, pleading to be let lose, begging to be returned to Jason, where it belongs. He swallows down his sudden hurried breaths, and instinctively lets his unchained hand wander up to ghost over his lips. He can still feel it. Jason’s breath, the warmth of it, it still lingers over his lips, and the silly tingling feeling it gives him makes his stomach knot.

“I’m sorry” he breaths out, his mind rushing to catch up to the situation. Trying to process what Jason nearly did, and well aware of the gaze on his back. His heart pangs with guilt and pain and need. Because dammit he wants to. He wants to kiss Jason so badly. To feel his lover’s lips on his again, it’s a feeling he desperately misses and wants to feel again. But he can’t. Not yet. He knows if they kiss, he’s fucked. Everything else, all the other intimacy of the night, he could cope with. He was dealing with it, reveling in it. It was just barely enough, right at the line of comfortably being what he needs and yet not enough and too much at the same time. A kiss would kill him. It’d be the end of everything. He’s not ready for that yet. He doesn’t know if it’s safe yet.

“I’m sorry… Jason… I can’t… I am really sorry…” He sighs, moving his free hand from his lips, to run through his hair, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. His instincts and his rational thoughts are fighting. Tearing away at eachother. His instincts are telling him to whip back around and toss himself into Jason’s arms. Kiss him hard and desperate and worry about the consequences later. The logical part of his brain is telling him that it’s still not cleared. That he needs to know the full situation. He can’t lose himself, not until he’s got his Jason back, and knows exactly what he’s dealing with.

Jason tugs at their linked hands, trying to pull Nico’s attention back to him. Nico shifts a bit, but he still can’t bring himself to look Jason in the eye.

“Nico, it’s okay. I should have… I should have waited for an actual, verbal answer… I thought...” Jason clears his throat a bit, hesitating as he moves a bit closer to Nico. Filling the gap between them.

“I just thought, the way you were looking at me… I thought that was your answer. I thought you wanted to…” His voice drops, it’s so quite that nearly doesn’t hear it, even though it’s directly behind him.

Poor Jason. How is he always so sweet? Always so worried about Nico being comfortable and okay with each little action. It took him quite a while, back in the day, for Jason to read Nico’s body and eyes for an answer, instead of waiting on actual words. He still knew the signals, it seemed, because he wasn’t wrong.

“I did… I do want to, Jason… That’s the problem… I really want to… but I can’t” His voice is so soft and fragile that he barely recognizes it. He can feel the couch shifting, as Jason hesitantly moves closer, until he’s right up behind Nico, his broad chest spanning over Nico’s back.

“Can I touch you?” Jason whispers into his ear, low and careful as if Nico would break if he was too loud. Nico hesitantly nods, after a moment of thought, and is rewarded with Jason’s arms around his waist, suddenly in a warm and comfortable embrace.

“Is it because of him? Your first boyfriend? Is that why you can’t kiss me?” Jason’s words come slow, like he’s not sure what he’s saying. Nico freezes in his arms, so Jason gently lays his head on Nico’s shoulder. He’s not sure why that’s so comforting, but it does make him relax enough to nod.

“Can you tell me about him?” He asks, and it’s Nico’s turn to not know what to say again. What should he say? How is he supposed to explain Jason to the man himself?

“What… What do you want to know?” His breath quivers, and Jason tightens his hold a bit, as he hums in though.

“How did you meet?” He asks after a second. How did they meet? How does he explain it to Jason in a way that doesn’t reveal too much?

“He helped save my life… and he stood up for me at school…” He finds a safe answer, saying he met Jason at school isn’t enough. A painful understatement that he refuses to say. Jason was there when Percy pulled him from that awful prison, and Jason was there to keep the kids at school away. Jason was his guardian angel, his protector. Dumbing down there meeting is impossible.

“He protected you?” Jason adds slowly, but it doesn’t sound like a question meant for Nico. He nods regardless.

“How did you start dating?”

“We were friends… for a really long time…and we just naturally fell into a couple like nature without realizing it. He asked me out, and confessed first” He gulps, his body shaking a bit under Jason’s touch. Jason soothes his unease with a gentle kiss on his shoulder.

“You loved him?” Nico nods his head, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes.

“More then anything else in the world” he chokes, Jason pulls him in tighter, closer, nearly back in his lap.

“He was your first love?”

“First and only…” He confirms trying his hardest not to lean back into Jason’s every touch.

“What happened to him?” Somehow, Jason’s voice sounds just as broken as his.

“He got in an accident…”

“You’ve never loved anyone else, have you?” He shakes his head, and Jason nuzzles his face closer in Nico’s neck. As if that was some sort of comfort. All it did was confuse him.

“Will you go out with me?” Nico’s blood turns to ice at the sudden shift in conversation, and he frantically shifts in Jason’s arms to look at him. Jason accommodates the change in position, raising his head to look down at Nico with sparkling blue, desperate eyes.

“What?” He flounders, mouth gaping open. Jason’s uncuffed hand reaches up to cup the side of Nico’s face, gently caressing the soft skin.

“I understand if you can’t ever love anyone like you loved him. I am not asking to replace him but…” Jason’s voice catches momentarily and swipes his thumb at a tear rolling down Nico’s cheek.

“But I want you… I really, really like you, Nico… I just… I feel like I need you… Like I am meant to be with you… and I don’t think I can ignore it anymore… I am not going to ask you to forget him, I am not asking to replace him… I just… I’d like a chance? I’d like a chance to love you like he did” The look on Jason’s face is frantic, desperate, and pleading. Nico wants to laugh at the irony of it. Jason’s jealous of himself. He wants Nico to love him, but the poor sap has no idea that he already has the entirety of his heart and has for years. He really, really needs to figure out how to tell Jason the truth… just not right now… not today… but soon…

He pulls himself closer and lays his forehead against Jason’s shoulder as an answer, one that Jason seemingly understands, because he wraps Nico back up in his arms, and pulls him into his lap again.

“Not tomorrow, but the day after. Two days from now, let take you on a date?” Jason whispers softly into his hair, and Nico frantically nods because he needs this. They both need this. They’re not going to last apart much longer. Two days from now, he’ll tell Jason the truth. He has to, it’s not fair to either of them to keep lying at this point. Two days… Two more days…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I remember when I first wrote it, i was so mad. This chapter was actually supposed to be outside of the Halloween party, but then well, I decided I liked that setting I guess, and kept it?? I just remember the Jason conversation was originally going to happen in the park, and was going to be a continuation of the twenty questions but??? oh well??? I liked this version more. It felt more intimate.   
> ANYWAY in case you're wondering. Percy lost the best. Also! 6 more chapters! Would could possibly be left???


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One look into those eyes, and he knows he won’t have to wait much longer at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...close...

Not long after Jason’s confession, did Annabeth stride up to them, a twenty-dollar bill poking out of her pocket, and a grin on her lips. She gave them Percy’s key to the handcuffs without a word, and then sauntered back to her defeated looking boyfriend. Not knowing how to keep the night going after such a heavy conversation, they unchained themselves, and bid each other a bashful goodnight.

Nico went straight back to his apartment, he stripped himself of his costume, took an hour-long shower, and then crawled into his bed, but he never slept. He didn’t sleep for a minute that night. All he did was think. All he could do was think.

Every moment with Jason, from the day they met all the way up to their awkward goodbye, rushed through Nico’s mind over and over again. Every time he’s ever heard Jason laugh. Every time he heard him cry. Every time Jason held him during a nightmare. Every time Jason tickled him till he couldn’t breath and every time Jason held his hand when he got scared. He remembered every time they kissed, every last little kiss. The forehead kisses, the cheek kisses, the little pecks to the lips, the steamy, opened mouth kisses, and every other last time one of them pressed their mouth to the others skin. Every time they had sex, every date they ever went on. Every last time they said _“I love you”_ to each other.

He thought about it all. Every last memory haunted him till the sun rose and his only response to every memory was _“how do I make Jason remember this”,_ because now, to Nico, it’s not going to be enough. It won’t be enough to tell him. Even if Jason understands, even if he accepts it as the truth. It won’t be enough. He can’t carry the weight of their past on his own. He needs their relationship to be shared. It’s their relationship.

He needs Jason to remember it.

He needs Jason to remember him.

The second the sun is up, Nico is kicking himself out of bed. A new determination burning in his gut, and a new plan clicking into place in his mind. He gets ready in a rush, not really caring what he looks like. He can worry about that later, tomorrow, before his date.

He calls for Jules-Albert and leaves the apartment before the birds outside can even start chirping. He spends the whole day running around town, positively destroying his old bedroom at his dad’s house, and making so many phone calls to just about everyone he knows.

It takes him hours, almost the entire day, to step up and get everything he needs together but he does it. When he’s finally ready and back in his apartment. He texts Jason to confirm their plans for the next night. His fingers shake with anticipation as they tap against the phone screen. His whole body feels like it’s engulfed in flames. But the good kind. The kind that keeps him warm and alive. The kind that fuels him and excites him.

Jason gives him the date time, and what they’re doing. He’s predictable. He plays into Nico’s plan perfectly, choosing the route Nico knew he would. So similar to their first date, almost an exact match, but that’s alright. That’s exactly what Nico wants.

Once he’s all set up, He calls it a night, and actually manages to sleep for once. It’s not the best sleep he’s ever gotten. Much like a little kid on Christmas eve, he’s much too excited to really sleep, and when he does sleep all he does is dream about it. He wakes up first thing again, and spends the day anxiously wandering around his apartment, and receiving multiple pep talks from everyone he knows.

When it gets closer to the time, Nico starts putting all his time into getting ready. He probably sends an hour and a half in the shower, and two hours in total to get ready. He already has his outfit planned out, it’s his hair that takes him forever. It removes to cooperate with him, tangling easier then it usually would, and refusing to stay in it’s rubber band.

By the time he is fully ready, he’s pacing back and forth in front of the front door, twenty minutes before Jason’s scheduled to pick him up. Anxiousness eating away at his gut, and excitement beating at his heart.

But luckily for him, Jason is always at least ten minutes early, and he doesn’t have to wait too long like that.

The second he hears a knock on the door, he rushes and yanks it open, not caring in how eager it made him look. He takes one look into Jason’s eyes, those sparkling, beautiful blue eyes, and he knows it’s going to be alright.

 One look into those eyes, and he knows he won’t have to wait much longer at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason’s head hasn’t stopped spinning since he left the Halloween party. All he’s done since then is sleep and eat and worry. Leo has had to talk him down from his anxieties four times in the past two days, Piper has had to do it six times.

The only time he really felt relieved from his worries was when Nico texted him to confirm the details of the date, sounding just as excited and nervous as he felt.

His nerves settled again, just a few hours before his date, when Reyna texted him. She warned him that he ‘better not mess this up,’ because apparently, Nico spent the entire day anxiously pacing throughout their apartment in anticipation.  

That set a fire under Jason’s ass. Knowing that Nico’s dyeing to see him as much as he is.

Jason thought he was screwed at first. He thought he had turned Nico off by trying to kiss him, and then asking all those questions about his ex. He thought confessing him feeling might have put Nico on edge, pushed him into a territory he didn’t want to go in. He thought he read the mood wrong. He thought he read Nico wrong.

But he didn’t. Nico was just as eager. Nico wanted Jason just as much as he did. He returned Jason’s feelings. But his past is holding him back.

Jason understand that. He respected that. He doesn’t want Nico to erase the past. He’s not asking him to forget about his first love. He’ll admit, that every time he hears about it, his stomach knots, and his heart burns. It bothers him deeply every time. But he has no right to take something so important away. He’s not trying to change the past, he’s just asking for the future. Hopefully Nico’s willing to give it to him.

After he sees that text from Reyna, he jumps into action. He gets ready as quickly as he can, and double checks to make sure everything is in order. He’s in such a rush that he finds himself leaving his apartment with Leos keys half an hour to early. But he can’t bring himself to care. Something tells him Nico is already ready too, and even he’s not, Jason will wait for him. Because he can’t wait anymore, not on his own, that is. He needs to see him. He needs to see Nico.

He finds himself on Nico’s door step, twelve minutes earlier then the time he agreed on, but neither of them cares about that. He was right in thinking that Nico was just as eager because he barely knocks once, and the door is already being yanked open.

His heart all but stops.

"Oh... Oh wow..." He gasps, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. 

Nico stands in the door way, looking up at him with wide eyes, a deep blush on his cheeks, and the cutest nervous smile on his lips. He looks anxious. He looks excited. He looks gorgeous. And all Jason can do is stand there and stare at him, trying to remember how to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is tiny, but I wanted to make sure the date scene itself had its very own chapter. Because uh.. Yeah.. ANwaY.... Five more chapters to go~ Any predictions?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The much awaited 'first' date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so so sooooo sorry about the unplanned hiatus. My life got a little crazy and complicated and it's been really hard to do anything for the past few months. I finally got this edited and ready to post though! Hopefully it doesnt take me as long to edit chapter 17 :/  
> Anyway! Please enjoy this chapter!

“Oh wow” Is the only thing Jason can manage to say. All he can do is stare at Nico, his mouth and throat growing drier by the second.

 To say Nico looked good would be an understatement. Leo, after finally seeing a picture of Nico, once told Jason that he had to be hallucinating. His friend didn’t understand in the slightest how Jason thought Nico was not only extraordinary, but out of his league. Before, Jason honestly didn’t think he stood a chance. Leo complained for an hour after hearing this. Leo thinks Nico looks skinny and disheveled and ‘like a grumpy, emo teenager’ but that’s not what Jason saw. Jason saw Nico as being all lean muscle, fit and athletic. He was a bit messy sometimes, but Jason liked the way his hair always looked wind swept, he thought it gave him this natural, wild appeal.

He certainly didn’t think Nico looked grumpy either. Sure, the younger man had his days, but he didn’t look grumpy or ‘emo.’ Those brown eyes were filled with light and fire. There was a lot of pain in there, Jason could see the darker things that lurked in the shadows, but he overcame it all.

Nico also did not look like a teenager, not in the slightest. Nico was defined, and mature. He could be regal and elegant when he wanted. He was worn by his past and all his rough experiences blossomed him into what can only be described as an old soul hiding away in the body of a gorgeous young adult. Nico is a bit younger then him, only twenty years old but Jason can tell that everything he’s been through has weighed him down, making him mature and wise beyond what he should be.

Leo said it was ‘Love-Goggles’; that Nico could wear nothing but a garbage bag and Jason would still find him attractive because he was in love. As if to prove his friends point, his brain couldn’t even process the ‘garbage bag’ part, and instead just got stuck on the ‘Nico wearing nothing’ part. Leo took one look at Jason’s face after that, gagged and walked away mumbling ‘I told you so’ to Piper.

But even if Leo was right, even if Jason constantly saw the beauty in Nico simply because he was in love with him, then this moment was the exception. Nico looked down right gorgeous, and that had to be to everyone’s standards, not just his. You would have to be crazy to look at Nico Di Angelo right now and see him as anything less then stunning.

He’s wearing these tight black jeans that show off how long and lean his legs are, and Jason can tell from the front, that they probably look just as amazing on Nico’s ass. He contemplates for a minute if Nico did that on purpose. There is no way he doesn’t know what those jeans do for his figure. His lower half anyway, but the upper part is just as suited.

He’s wearing this soft button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the front buttoned down just one button enough to reveal a glimpse of smooth, pale collar bones. The shirt looks perfectly fitted, not too lose and not too tight. It’s the perfect fit, and it’s in this gorgeous deep blue that contrasts so beautifully against his dark eyes and that thick black hair that’s been wrangled into a low ponytail.

Looking at Nico, admiring how down-right attractive he looks, and how well that shirt works for him, Jason realizes he finally has a good explanation for his favorite color. He’ll probably never think of midnight blue again without thinking of Nico in it, and he’s perfectly okay with that.

“Jason?” Nico’s voice, so quite and unsure. Meant to draw Jason back to reality but it has the opposite effect. Instead of returning his focus, Jason freezes.  

There’s this image, this picture, that worms its way into Jason’s mind just then. It takes him a second to even realize it though, because it’s almost identical to what’s really in front of him. Somewhere, back in the depths of his mind, he can see Nico; Almost exactly as he is now. Standing in the doorway, but the doorframe he see’s in the image is darker, and wider. The room behind Nico is darker too. The clothes he wears are the same, a perfect match, but Nico himself is a little different.

The Nico before him is just a tad taller, a little thicker, his skin isnt quite as pale, he’s filled in. His hair looks a bit longer, and his eyes look darker. He’s got the same expression on his face: blushing, nervous, and just a tiny bit eager. The current Nico, the Nico before him though, has a lot more fear in his eyes. Like he’s ready to bolt in the opposite direction if he needs to. If it wasn’t for that fear so prominent in his eyes, Jason wouldn’t have picked up that they were different images.

He wants to ask. Wants to question. Wants to understand what he’s seeing. What he’s feeling. But at the moment, he’s more concerned with Nico’s fear, and figuring out what to do to chase it away.

“You’re beautiful” Is the first thing Jason can think to say. He shakes away that other image, storing it away for later questioning, and focusing all his energy on the Nico before him instead.

“I-“Nico sounds like the airs been knocked clear out of his lungs, but to be fair, that’s exactly how Jason feels every time he sees Nico, it’s about time the other learns what it feels like.  “You look… You look good too…” He struggles to mutter out a compliment of his own, his head dropping to hide the deep red that’s quickly over taking his face.

Jason chuckles a bit, and glances down at himself. “I look underdressed” Jason wasn’t planning for anything fancy, because he didn’t think Nico would be comfortable with that. So, he went for a casual movie date. Casual and intimate. So, he’s wearing normal jeans and a light gray sweater with a black jacket tossed over it. He didn’t really want the Jacket if he was being honest. He just wanted the option to drape it over Nico’s shoulders later in the night.

  
Nico shakes his head in protest at Jason’s clear disappointment in his own fashion choices. “No, you look really good, Jason… you do…” Nico clears his throat a bit, finally trying to look Jason in the eye. Key word: Trying.

“Why thank you, but you have definitely put me to shame” Jason grins, he certainly could have put more effort into his own outfit, he wanted to make a good impression after all, but Nico seems genuine about liking what he sees.

“I doubt many people will be paying attention to us in the dark of the theater” Nico gives him a small smile and steps out of the door, so he can shut and lock it. Letting Jason lead him towards the car.

“You definitely might turn some heads when we walk in though” Jason hums in mock thought. He’s gaining a bit of confidence. This feels comfortable, familiar. Nothing to be afraid of, so he should make the most out of it. Enjoy it.

“I doubt that Jason” Nico rolls his eyes playfully, slowly walking in tandem with Jason.

“I am sure of it” Jason says with a firm nod “So, I think that means you should stick close by me, right? Just so no one gets any ideas” he jokes, but when he looks down at Nico, he finds the younger man staring at him with the fondest smile, and a question on his lips.

“I don’t need anyone trying to steal you away from me on our first date” He beats Nico to it with an explanation, and Nico’s smile grows.

“Don’t think anyone could, even if they tried” It’s so quiet, the tiniest of whispers and Jason’s lucky he caught it. If he could, he would have pushed Nico up against the car right then and there and kissed him senseless.

 But he doesn’t want to scare Nico off. Doesn’t want to push him too much or make him feel uncomfortable. He’s got boundaries, lines, and rules that he doesn’t dare cross right now. He’s waiting for Nico’s ‘okay.’

“So, what movie are we seeing?” Nico clears his throat, either praying that Jason didn’t hear him, or knowing that he did, and is just hoping he won’t say anything. Either way, he’s switching the conversation before anymore of that topic could continue.

“Oh, I don’t really know. I figured we could just pick when we get there?” Jason did have an idea of what he wanted to watch, there was a terribly cheesy romantic comedy that just came out a few days ago, and he thinks it would be delightful to watch with Nico. The first time they really hung out, the movie night with Percy, Annabeth and Reyna was a really good night. Sitting so close to Nico all night, so comfortable in each others space, just watching and mocking whatever movies they chose. That was a lot of fun. Jason’s never really gave rom-coms all that much attention, he usually only went to see the Comic-book based movies. But watching them with Nico? That was an experience that felt amazing, felt right. Then again, everything he does with Nico feels amazing and right.

He has his heart set on a specific movie, but he wants Nico to put an honest impute in and see how well they can match up their thoughts. So far, they seem to be on the same page.

“Sounds good” Nico smiles softly at him, as they reach the truck, and Jason holds open the passenger side door for him.

Nico laughs “What a gentle-men” and reaches up for the support handle, and places his other hand on the door, before hoisting himself up. Jason has the urge to set his hands-on Nico’s hips, and help guide him up, but out of respect for Nico’s boundaries, he keeps his hands to himself, and holding open the door. He closes the door once Nico’s in, and goes around to jump into the driver’s seat.

The drive to the movie theater is filled with talking and laughter. Nico starts by asking Jason how his tests went, so they start swapping mid-term week stories. Jason watched someone in one of his classmate’s chug three energy drinks in under a minute, right before the test. Nico’s only response was ‘God, I wish that was me’, and with further prompting, explained that he fell asleep at his desk after his Literature test.

Nico laughs once. One tiny, low chuckle. And Jason is gone. After that, he’s on a mission to make Nico laugh. It’s such a wonderful, beautiful sound. It’s light and airy and pure. And it’s rare. Rare for others, not for Jason. It’s not the first time he’s heard it, he’s heard Nico laugh plenty of times, but every time feels like the first time, and every time it feels like he’s stumbled upon some precious rare jewel that no one has ever seen before.

He starts telling Nico every story he can think of and cracking every joke he can. All in the name making Nico laugh, and it works. Jason eventually has Nico shaking with laughter, and it sounds a million times better to him then every song the radio plays softly in the background. By the time Jason pulls into the theater, both their faces are a little heated, they’re both grinning, and Nico’s eyes are a little wet.

“Not as many people here as I thought there would be” Nico hums, quickly calming down as Jason walks him up to the movie theater so they can wait in line for their tickets.

“Yeah” He nods in agreement. There are not many people around. A couple and a small family wait in line in front of them, no ones behind them yet, the parking lot looks pretty empty too, and he couldn’t see how busy it was inside. “I think it’s supposed to rain later tonight. Most people probably decided to stay home and escape the weather” He looks out at the sky around him, looking for those dark storm clouds the rain had warned about, but he doesn’t see any quite yet.

“Staying in would have been nice…” Nico steps forward as their little line grows short, his eyes twinkling at the possibilities. “I don’t think I could have waited another day for this…” Jason disagrees. Yeah, he likes staying home, especially during storms, but if he could have, he would have taken Nico out on a date the second he confessed. Party be damn, he would have dragged him out to dinner right then. He knew Nico needed time and space to think though, so he scheduled it for tonight. The wait nearly drove him crazy though.

“Who said you would have had to wait any longer?” Nico looks up at him with a sly grin, and one eyebrow raised, watching as the dots connect in Jason’s brain. Nico didn’t mean ditching the date to stay home. He meant staying in with Jason, as their date. Staying indoors, while it rains outside, curled up close on the couch together, buried under piles of blankets and free to make whatever commentary they want on the movie. It would have allowed more time together, it would have been more private and more intimate. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He silently scolds himself, but loud enough for Nico to hear, and respond with a tiny laugh. Technically, Jason did think of it, just not that specifically. He ruled out thinking of anything too private instantly, because he thought being out in public might make Nico feel more comfortable. He was apparently wrong, and he feels like an idiot for missing that opportunity.

“Net time” Nico reassures with a comforting pat to the shoulder. Jason perks up at the words and leans a bit closer to Nico.   
“Next time?” He whispers, but the only response he gets is a sly smile, and for Nico to step forward to the now unoccupied ticket window. Nico orders two tickets for that Rom-Com Jason wanted, without them even having to talk about it. Jason pays, seeing as he is the one who asked.

“How did you know to pick that one?” He asks, as they step out of line. Nico shrugs. “None of the other movies looked all that interesting, and well, we had a lot of fun watching rom-coms that one night, so I thought it might be nice” and Jason grins, because that’s exactly why he wanted to see it.

“Good choice” he praises, holding open the theater doors for Nico. They let the guy at the front check their tickets, and then they head directly for the snack line. Nico claims he’s simple, and just wants some popcorn, but Jason can tell it’s a lie, and has already decided to get a couple things of candy for him too. Movie snacks are expensive, usually when he comes to the theater he shoves a bunch of 99 cent candy bars into piper’s purse. But Jason is willing to pay the completely overpriced numbers for Nico. He’d fork over his whole wallet for Nico. He’d do just about anything for the boy.

“Anything else I can get for you?” The girl behind the counter bats her eyelashes at him, and just as quickly, Nico’s got an iron grip on Jason’s hand. The girl had been flirting with Jason. Subtly, but enough for Nico to pick up on. She had eyed Jason rather obviously head to toe when they first stepped up in line. Her voice went up when she started talking to them, and she kept lightly giggling and trying to make little jokes and small talk. Not very obvious or out there flirting, but apparently, it’s enough to make Nico uncomfortable.

“Anything else you want, baby?” Jason leans down a bit towards Nico and whispers it to him gently. Loud enough for the girl to hear. Loud enough for her to get the idea.

Nico’s face starts blooming bright red, but he leans closer to Jason regardless. “I am good” He whispers back. “That’s everything” He tells the girl, and she nods her head, casually glancing between the two of them as she finishes ringing them up. Jason pays, and they leave the stand with their snacks.

“Didn’t think you were the jealous type”

“Usually I am not” Is all he responds with. Jason hums in thought, trying to figure out what he means by that, but he gets distracted from his thoughts when Nico squeezes his hand gently, and leans closer to bump their shoulders together. Jason laughs happily, and instead of questioning, simply tugs Nico along to their theater.

Turns out, Nico is a ‘back of the theater in its darkest corner where there is no other sign of human life’ kind of movie goer, while Jason is actually a ‘absolute center of the audience so you get the full and best view of the screen’ kind of person. They make a compromise. They sat in the middle, but closer up towards the top, where there were slightly less people.

They sat together, Their snacks and the drinks in their laps.

Jason was considering doing that classic cheesy move. You know the one? The yawn and stretch so he can drop his arm around Nico? What possible rules could there be about pulling a rom-com move, while watching a rom-com? Would Nico be okay with that? He let Jason hold his hand in the lobby? Would he be okay with something a little more intimate? Nico did sit on his lap during the Halloween-party, and he seemed very content in that spot, but he reminds himself that just because he was okay with it then, doesn’t mean he would be okay with that now. But could he ask him? Would asking for that be too straight forward? Perhaps he could just do it slowly, make it obvious, so Nico has to time and option to reject it calmly?

The lights started to dim, and the audience suddenly started to hush, and Jason never got the chance to make a decision.

Nico made it for him.

He set his drink in the cupholder on the other side of him, and then he nudged up the arm rest that divided them.

Nico scooted closer, nuzzling into Jason’s side and Jason’s heart all but melted. He lifted his arm and draped it around Nico now without hesitation now, pulling him closer and relishing in the warmth and intimacy that was so kindly being offered to him.

The movie flew by, most likely because he wasn’t actually watching it. He was watching Nico watch the movie, instead of watching the movie itself. Nico kept whispering funny little quips into his ear. He would lean up, his mouth breathing hot air directly onto Jason’s neck as he quietly laughed at his own jokes. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the theater, and he looked so relaxed.

 Comfortable Nico is a beautiful sight. The tension leaves his shoulders, and a small smile worms it’s way to his lips. The anxious, fight or flight fire that constantly hides behind his cold mask vanishes, and he actually looks like a carefree young adult for once, instead of a war-torn old soul. He looks peaceful, and Jason wishes he could be that relaxed all the time. Nico shouldn’t have to be so worn down all the time. He deserves to be comfortable and worry free.

Eventually the movie does end, and the lights flicker back on, and their private hour and a half long moment is over. “That was awful” Nico laughs as they’re pushed out of the theater along with the rest of the crowd. Jason had been reluctant to pull his arm off of Nico when it was over, but Nico, again taking the step Jason wasn’t sure how to make himself, kept himself pressed into Jason’s side as they walk out.

“It wasn’t that bad” Jason argues, but it’s empty and meaningless, because he honestly had no idea what it was about. He could barely remember the characters names.

“Were we watching the same movie?” Nico presses closer to Jason’s side when they step out of the lobby and enter the cold night air.

“Probably not” Jason admits, but he doesn’t give Nico time to question “Are you cold?” He asks instead, but again not leaving time for Nico to respond. He shrugs off his Jacket and drapes it over Nico before any argument could be made.

Surprisingly, Nico doesn’t argue at all. “Thanks” the mumble gets lost as he tugs at the soft fabric, bundling it closer in front of himself, hiding his face behind it.

“Even warmer in the car” Jason urges, quickly crossing the parking lot to their ride. He once again pulls open the passenger side door for Nico and watches him climb in before getting into his own seat.

“Hey, you hungry?” “Should we get something to eat?” They speak at the same time, minds going in the same direction, and both of them give a small laugh at the coincidence.

“How about I treat you to a high end special delicacy?” There’s a grin on Jason’s face as he pulls out of the parking lot, and onto the street, destination already in mind.

“McDonalds isnt high-end nor is it a ‘special delicacy,’ Jason.” Nico’s delighted laugh makes him feel warmer then the busted old car heater ever could.

“How did you know?” He asks, that grin pulling into a frown of mock disappointment.

Nico shrugs “The look on your face” is his answer, but that doesn’t make much sense to Jason. How could he guess the exact location based off the look on his face? It was probably just a lucky guess.

“Are you complaining about McDonalds?” Jason shifts the conversation and Nico shakes his head, and quickly responds with a very predictable answer; “Never”

Luckily the nearest McDonalds is only 7 minutes away, great for the appetites, not so great for the plans.

They get there, order, eat and are walking back to Jason’s car in just over thirty minutes.  Too short. He needs to come up with something quick, some way to extend their evening, because he’s not ready for this to be over yet. Every instinct in his body tells him now to not let Nico out of his sight.

This time, when Jason needs answers and can’t bring himself to do something, it’s not Nico who saves him, but nature itself. Before they can get into Jason’s car, it starts pouring rain almost out of nowhere. Nico squeaks when the first drop of rain hits his cheek, and Jason quickly pulls opens the car for them. Nico scrambles in without hesitation, and Jason joins him.

Everything seems to happen at once. He slams the car door shut behind him, starts the car, lightning strikes in the distance, and Nico jumps. Before he can realize what’s happening, Nico’s clinging to his arm, face buried in Jason’s shoulder, and his body shakes despite being wrapped up in a warmer jacket.

“Nico?” He hesitates, shifting in his seat to rest his hands-on Nico’s shoulders, forcing the other boy to look up. “Are you okay?” He lets his voice drop, trying to be quite and careful. The vocal equivalent of tip-toeing. Nico hesitantly shakes his head, but he still flinches at the sound of rumbling thunder.

“I am fine… Just… just not a big fan of storms…” He admits, and Jason nods in understanding. He’s not a big fan of storms either. He doesn’t remember a whole lot about his accident. He can’t remember where he was, or where he was going, but he does know he was out in a storm. Screeching tires always accompanies the sound of thunder for him, and with the sight of lightning always comes the memory of blood-soaked glass shards. It took a whole year after he woke up to be willing to leave him room during a storm like this. It’s the still hard, it still haunts him, but It’s not as pressing. In the past, there were times when he was literally paralyzed with fear anytime a storm rolled in.

“That’s alright. I’m not very fond of them either. Should I get you home?” Jason pulls the jacket tighter around Nico’s shoulders, rubbing up and down his arms. He tries his best to keep Nico’s gaze on him, and away from the sparks of light in the sky.

“No… No, I don’t want to be alone...” Nico’s voice is lost and muted under the sound of heavy rain drops hitting the car.

“Okay” Jason hums in thought, his mind racing spinning as he thinks of solutions. “Okay…How about we go back to my place? We can curl up on the couch and watch some movies until the storm passes?” He knows the storm isnt going to pass anytime soon. He knows Nico might end up staying the night, but that’s what he’s hoping for. Not like, in a sexual way. On one hand, yeah, Jason’s thought about that, like a lot, but he’d never rush that on Nico, he’d never pull anything like that on the first date, but he especially doesn’t want to push Nico’s boundaries. Jason is more hoping for privacy… For intimacy… To hold him in his arms and have him still be there in the morning. He absolutely loves the idea of sleeping with Nico in his arms every night, and the idea of waking up to him every morning. He wants to try it, just once, if that’s all he can get, he wants to know what it’s like. But hopefully it won’t be just once.

“That sounds… That sounds nice…” Nico agrees to it, albeit a bit hesitant. Jason gives him a reassuring smile, and then pulls away so he can drive. He waits for Nico to buckle in, then buckles in himself, shifts gears, turns his windshield wipers on, and puts one hand on the wheel. The other hand has a very important job of holding one of Nico’s quivering hand.

“I’m right here, I’ll get us there safely” He promises, prompting Nico to squeeze his hand, and give him an uneasy smile.

“I know”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! Originally it was much longer and all the date parts were more detailed. There actually was a scene of them at McDonalds, and i spent more time at the movies, as well as in the car, but I felt like it just got too long and too complicated so I decided to keep those parts simple. Hope you enjoyed it, and I can't wait to post the next chapter! Things are gonna get a bit uhm... Intense... I guess is a good word for it.. ONLY FOUR MORE CHAPTERS. Hopefully no more unplanned leaves of absence! Let me know what you guys think! Love all your comments! :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was worth it when it was taking away his own pain, but when it started to cause pain in the others, it was no longer justifiable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter does talk about violence, scars and self harm. So please be careful. Read with caution.

“It’s alright, I’ve got you” Jason’s voice whispers, sweet and hot in his ear as he leads Nico up into his apartment, holding him tight and protecting him from the heavy storm overhead. It’s been a long while since Nico’s been this shaken up by the sound of thunder and the feeling of rain, Jason’s presence somehow soothing his worries and intensifying his fears at the same time.

“It’s alright. We’re alright…” Jason promises, but it doesn’t settle Nico’s shaking frame, not when images of dark alley walls are flashing through his mind, or when his ears are ringing with the sound of ambulances in the distance.

“I’ve got an idea. How about you go warm in the shower, and I’ll set up the living room, alright?”

“Okay” Nico nods and agrees but he has no idea what he is really agreeing to until he’s all alone in Jason’s bathroom, the door firmly locked behind him and he’s staring mindlessly at the shower, Hot water already running and steaming up all the glass in the room.

It takes him a minute before he starts to shed his damp clothing, letting it all drop to the floor without care. Except for Jason’s jacket. The soft, black Jacket that mimics Jason’s warmth and touch near perfectly. The jacket the envelops Nico with Jason’s scent and his care and his love. That gets carefully folded and placed on the sink.

He steps into the shower carefully, worried the hot water might burn him, but he finds the stream of water to be at the perfect temperature. The shower dial was adjusted for him. Set to just the right degree, that level just below scolding that Nico so enjoys. He doesn’t remember turning the shower on, he’s almost positive Jason did it. He wonders briefly if that’s another thing Jason subconsciously remembers, or if he just got lucky. Most people would set it to just barely being warm, and then let their guest alter it to preference. Jason put the temperature in the highs, and to the exact perfect setting. Not his own either. Jason likes warm showers, but not to the boiling degree that Nico likes. It was always a compromise when they bathed together. Jason had to go a bit hotter then he liked, and Nico went colder then he would want, but for the two of them together, it was the perfect melding point.

It’s probably not the best idea Nico’s ever had, but thinking of Jason, and all the times they showered together while he was in there was the only thing that was safely keeping his mind free from the storm booming just outside.

It wasn’t something they got to do very often, but it’s something that happened frequently enough to know that they both really enjoyed it and had set a routine for it. It was something intimate and personal for them, but not always sexual.

Jason would turn the water on, and they’d both test it to see if it was adequate. Nico got in first, then Jason behind him. Nico would splash water at Jason’s face, usually for saying something cheesy or for some dumb joke. Jason would pull down the shower head and spray Nico in retaliation. Nico would pout, and Jason would kiss him somewhere to apologize. Sometimes on the lips, but usually on the forehead right where Nico’s brows were furrowed. Once Nico turned his back to Jason in the ‘silent treatment’ and that resulted in Jason placing little kisses across Nico’s shoulders. That was one of the few times their little showers took the sexual route.

The rest of the time. Well, usually Jason would wash Nico’s hair. Jason had an absurd amount of fun washing Nico’s hair. He claimed he just like the feeling of it, he really did enjoy running his hands through Nico’s hair, both in and out of the shower. But Jason also loved soaping Nico’s hair with shampoo and trying to style it into odd things. Looking at Nico with a bubbly twisted mohawk never failed to make Jason laugh. Jason’s hair was just out of comfortable read for Nico, so he repaid the favor always by rubbing Jason’s shoulders. Nico did make him crouch once so he could try, he wanted to know what it felt like to wash someone else’s hair. As awkward and uncomfortable as it was, that somehow turned into another one of their more sexual escapes.

They’d wash eachother, gentle hands almost always followed by soothing kisses. They’d linger under the water probably far longer than they needed to, Jason’s arms wrapped around Nico’s waist, Nico leaning back to rest his head on Jason’s shoulder, neither of them wanting to leave the intimate confines of the shower.

Eventually they had to though. When they did, Jason would get out first, Nico would turn off the water while Jason grabbed a towel. Jason always held out a hand, and helped Nico out, then he’d wrap him up in a towel, and then he’d dry off Nico’s hair by dropping the towel over his head and exaggeratingly jostling it around to make Nico laugh. Nico would return the favor, drying as much of Jason as he could reach. Then they’d get dressed and go out and lay down on the bed for a while.

It was never a last-minute thing. It was something planned. As important to them as a date would be. It was just as intimate and romantic to them. The first time was awkward and a bit clumsy, but it was still relaxing and touching. They took their time to figure it out, to make it work. They took their time with eachother, always. They never rushed anything. Both of them found their time together too important to ever let it breeze by. Every moment was always savored.

Nico remembers every last minute he’s ever spent with Jason.

Unfortunately, Jason can no longer say the same.

“Nico? You alright in there?” Jason’s fist raps against the door, and Nico’s head bolts up off the shower wall where he’d been pressing it.

“Yeah, I am fine Everything is good!” He quickly shuts off the water and steps out to dry. All he really did was sit there and soak up every last drop of hot water like a dyeing desperate plant. But that’s alright. The shower wasn’t meant for hygiene, he already took a shower before their date. This shower was just meant to keep his mind off the storm, and to chase away the cold. It worked, but not because of the water itself.

Nico dries his body clean and reaches for the clothes he abandoned on the ground. His pants are soaked from the rain, and it looks like it caught some of the splash back from the shower. The only things dry enough to wear are his socks and boxers. He takes them and tugs them on, then tosses the jacket Jason had lent him over his shoulders for some bit of decency.

“So uhm?” He clears his throat, as he quietly steps out of the bathroom, wet clothes in hand. “Do you have a dryer? And maybe a uhm, a shirt and some sweats or something?” Nico asks, but his question falls on deaf ears. Jason sits on the edge of his bed, hands placed nervously in his lap, no do doubt he was twiddling his thumbs before Nico stepped out. He was waiting. Eager. Anxious. But now? Now he just stares.

Jason stares at Nico with wide blue eyes, filled with pain, confusion, worry, and the smallest glimpse of hunger.

“Jay?” His voice fails him, already cracking and breaking under the pressure of such an intense gaze. He’s seen that look before. That look shakes him down to his core.

“Nico?” He doesn’t even register when Jason crosses the room, and he couldn’t tell you how Jason ends up right in front of him, staring down at his half naked body with burning concern. His hands, shaking and hesitant, reach for Nico’s shoulders, and slowly push away at the jacket until it collapses to the floor.

Jason’s hands feel oddly cold on his shoulders, and as they slowly slide down his arms, caressing pale skin, he feels a bolt of electricity travel down his spine, a spark so familiar and so Jason and it makes him shiver.

“Nico” Jason repeats, the worry cracks his voice as he takes Nico’s hands in his and twists his arms, so Jason can see better. Nico’s eyes flutter shut, so that he doesn’t have to see what Jason does. He’s seen them enough times.

“How old are they?”  Jason runs his hands back up to Nico’s forearm, close to his shoulders, where little white nicks lay in a ragged array. From his biceps, up over his shoulders, down his back. His thighs, his legs, even a few on his chest. Scars. Scars ancient and recent, old, and new, all lying right there, burning bright on his skin, open to Jason’s concerned prying eyes.

“They range” Nico admits, in a whisper too soft to really be called an answer. Jason accepts it though, with a sigh, as he carefully runs his fingers over the raised bits of skin.

“How old are the oldest?” He rephrases, and Nico hesitates, swallowing a dry lump that’s persistently building in his throat. His mind flashes back to when he was nine, when he was nearly buried alive in the rubble. He might have made it out, but he didn’t do it completely unscathed.

“When I was nine, the building I lived in collapsed. My sister and I miraculously survived. My mother did not. Those are my oldest scars” Nico tells him, because he knows the information Jason is wanting cannot be summed up to a single number.

Jason’s hand moves higher up on Nico’s shoulder to where it meets his neck, and Jason’s fingers ghost over the single scar there.

“When I was twelve, someone from my father’s past kidnapped us, and he held a knife to me” He gives the story for that one, and somewhere in his brain he can still hear the sound of rushing water and the sound of his kidnapper screaming as he tumbles over the cliff edge.

Jason doesn’t poke for more information on that story. He simply glides his hands down and over Nico’s chest, slowly, very slowly, leaving Nico time to object if he needs to. But he doesn’t. He won’t.

“These?” Jason asks and Nico sighs. “When my Sister Bianca died, I ran away from home, and I saw a lot of stuff on those streets that no thirteen-year-old should have to see” The streets are not a place for kids. Especially not where Nico frequented. He got in a lot of trouble. Got in a lot of fights. Some of them almost cost him is life.

“Are there more on your back?” Nico nods, letting Jason’s hands travel back up to his shoulders, the tips of his fingers just barely skimming over the top of his back.

“From what?” He asks. But the more questions Jason asks, the less they sound like questions.

“When I was fifteen… I was kidnapped again… One of the men who kidnapped me tossed me into a glass mirror, some of the shards went into my back…” That one is harder to answer. The memory is harder to face. He tries not to think about his time with those men. Tries not to think about the pain and the darkness he was left in for days. He tries not to think about the way the breath got slowly stolen from his lungs. The hardest part of that memory though, is the flash of electric blue eyes as he’s carried out of the darkness, and a few days later, When Jason comes to properly introduce himself. The direct result of his freedom was the integration of Jason Grace into his life. That is the part of the memory that gets caught in his throat.

Jason’s voice cracks, sorrow evident in the way his voice drops to a whisper: “and these,” he says as He moves on, hands continuously roaming, moving down towards Nico’s biceps to caress long horizontal lines of raised skin. Set in rows of three on both shoulders, carefully placed, and hand carved with a messy blade. 

“How old are they?” He asks, but he never asks where Nico got these ones from. He knows. Just by looking at them, he knows.

“Three years” he dates them, he could tell you the exact day, the exact time even. It was during the recent months following his Jason’s disappearance. Nico was at the hospital, asking around, trying to see if anyone had seen his missing boyfriend. He ended up overhearing two people talking. Talking about a boy who was brought in the month before, a boy with blonde hair and eyes like blue lightning and the smallest trace of a scar over his lip. A boy bleeding so badly they were debating if he ever left the hospital alive.

That was the first time Nico really faced the idea that the love of his life might actually be dead. Until that point, until that conversation, Nico had a lot of hope. He hoped that Jason was alive and well and out there somewhere. But he heard those words and his world suddenly crashed around him.

He raced home instantly, forgetting all about his mission. He locked himself in his room for hours and cried till his body shook and he couldn’t cry any more. Just the idea, the sole thought that Jason could have died, and he wouldn’t know, Jason being dead, just, it didn’t sit right with him. It was outlandish and cruel, and a nightmare come true. It was just wrong. It just felt wrong to him and he felt like screaming and he felt like cursing because Jason couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. Nico didn’t know how to face that. He didn’t know what to do if Jason was dead. It didn’t seem real. It didn’t feel real and Nico didn’t want it to be real.

He was insistent that it was all just a dream. A really, really bad dream. Some twisted nightmare that was stuck living. But it couldn’t be reality. He didn’t want to be alive in a reality where Jason wasn’t.

So, he checked. He doesn’t know how he got the idea, or why he went through with it. He found an old blade in his bathroom and he dug it into his shoulder and drew it across until there was enough blood dripping to the floor. Enough blood to convince him, too much blood to ignore. His blood was drawn, and his shoulder stung and that forced him to realize that it had to be real. He was bleeding and in pain and that meant it was real.

That was the first time. The other five came easy and often, once he realized that the best way to fight pain was with more pain. The ache in his heart was only ever dulled when the rest of his body was crying out. At the time it was worth it. At the time, the emotional pain out weighed the physical. His flesh and blood seemed like a fair price to easing his heartbreak. His skin would never be the same, but neither would his heart, so it was okay. The blade was a welcomed distraction and a cold reminder of his sorry. To Nico, back then, it was worth it. But not everyone saw it that way. He stopped once Hazel saw them and cried in his arms for an hour out of concern.

It was worth it when it was taking away his own pain, but when it started to cause pain in the others, it was no longer justifiable.

“Why are you afraid of storms?” Jason continues his questions, but each time he speaks slow, and gentle, as if not to scare Nico, and to let him know he has the option of not answering.

“The streets are a bad place to live in the rainy season” He remembers all the times he had to sit in puddles and all the times he didn’t sleep because it’s dangerous to sleep out in the rain. He remembers trying to collect the falling droplets in old plastic bottles and living off that water for weeks. He was damp too, always damp which meant he was always cold. So cold, and he just couldn’t get warm no matter how hard he tried. The fear of lightning is also so much more real and pressing when you have no place to hide from it.

 He hates that time of his life, and every time it rains, he’s forced to remember it. But that’s not the only reason he’s so shaken up by every passing thunderstorm.

“and?” Jason offers, picking up on Nico’s hesitance to continue.

“and the night he went missing” the words get caught in his throat, but he pushes them out because he knows if he doesn’t say them now they will never be said. “the night he went missing, there was a really bad thunderstorm. I was so scared, and I couldn’t sleep. I texted him, but he never responded. I could hear sirens that night. So many sirens in the distance. Then the next morning it was on the news and it... It didn’t occur to me till then that the sirens were meant for him and h- “Nico becomes frantic, the words start tumbling out his mouth faster then he can control, and his breathing starts to pick up until he feels the soft press of lips against his left shoulder. It stuns him into silence, and his eyes pop back open and he doesn’t even remember when he shut them now. He watches in painful silence, breath hitched in his lungs, as Jason slowly moves over, and presses another kiss to his right shoulder, then he moves up, momentarily locking eyes with Nico, before placing another tender kiss on Nico’s forehead.

“I’m sorry” Jason breaths, moving back, only so he can rest his forehead against Nico’s, and all Nico can do is stare and shake in Jason’s hold.

“I’m really sorry, Nico. You’ve been through so much. So much more then anyone should have to, and you didn’t deserve any of it. You deserve to be happy” He tries to respond, tries to tell Jason that he is happy. He tries to say that Jason makes him happy. But he can’t. All he can do is let out a shaky breath and lean further into Jason’s touch. He’s never wanted to kiss Jason so badly, and if there ever was a time to do it, it was now. He was so close, not even an inch away, he can feel Jason’s breath on his lips and he want it. But Jason pulls away. He pulls back, offers Nico a kind smile, wipes away the tears that Nico has no memory of shedding and says “come on, our hot chocolate is going to get cold”

 

But the drinks had already gone cold when they got to the living room, so Jason gives Nico some sweatpants and a shirt to put on while he reheats them. They sit down together on the couch, Nico curls into Jason’s side and uses his chest as a pillow, Jason wraps his arm around Nico’s waist, and covers them both with the warmest blanket he has to offer.

Nico doesn’t even know what movies they watch. They watch two, and he spends both of them daydreaming instead of actually paying attention to the screen. He can’t keep his mind off of Jason. He keeps thinking about his questions and his touch. His skin burns with that recent memory of gentle caresses, and his he swears Jasons lips burned a hole into his forehead. It’s been a long while since Nico has felt this content, this happy, this loved. He feels so unbelievably loved. His heart thumps uncontrollably in his chest, like it’s dancing in glee, rejoicing and celebrating.

When the second movie comes to an end, Nico is left in almost complete silence. Without the television, the only sounds left are that of Nico’s rapid heartbeat, and of Jason’s quiet snoring. He laughs lightly at the realization, having never realized before then that Jason had dozed off. He sits up, and when he sees Jason looking as content and happy in his sleep as Nico feels, that burning urge to kiss him comes crashing back into Nico’s mind. This time, it’s uncontrollable. Although, he doesn’t argue with it, he doesn’t consider it, he just decides to go for it. He figures ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ after all, Jason seems to be sound asleep, and he never as a light sleeper.

So, he leans forward, just enough to be able to lay his lips over Jason. It’s nice, and sweet, and worth it. For the five seconds that he gets to feel Jason’s lips on his again, warm, and soft and familiar, and as perfect as it felt all those years ago, it’s worth it. Just to be able to kiss the love of his life again, if only for a few seconds, it is worth it.

But then Nico starts to pull away, and Jason’s eyes open wide as he wakes with a start.

Jason stares at him, lightning cracking through sky blue eyes, and Nico very quickly realizes that Jason knows about a lot more than just that kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh  
> yeah.  
> The scars conversation was one of the first ideas I got for this story, so this lil bit has been around for a while.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed it, please let me know what you think, andddd  
> wwowww only three more chapters to go.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Jason’s eyes went wide, and his lips fell open to form Nico’s name, but Nico never actually heard the whisper. All he could hear was static. There was nothing between his ears but white noise and a flashing red light that read ‘Danger!’ His vision was starting to blur and he’s not sure if it was a side effect of shock or if it was the tears covering his eyes. He can’t register what’s happening. But then he could feel the heat of breath against his lips and a soft hand against his cheek and he panicked.

 He panicked, and he ran.

He scrambled out of his seat so quickly and he was out of the door and in the rain before he knew it. He should have thought about it. Really, he was running down the sidewalk in nothing but Jason’s baggy sweatpants and t-shirt. He didn’t even have any shoes or socks. He didn’t have his wallet or his phone on him. He left everything back at Jason’s apartment. But he didn’t care. He didn’t think once about his things, and he barely registered the feeling of the cold, wet cement beneath his bare feet. His head was spinning too fast and his heart was beating too loud for him to care about anything else but running.

It feels like running in a nightmare. Everything is dark, and nothing seems to really be around him. He doesn’t know where he’s running to or even why he’s running. But it’s a nightmare, he supposes. There is no where or how or why in nightmares. Only fear, and Nico is definitely afraid.

Afraid that this really is a nightmare, or a dream. For once both sides of that coin are just as bad because Nico doesn’t want to be asleep. Because Jason is alive. Jason is alive and breathing and so close and he remembers him. He remembers Nico. He’s sure of it. It was in the way he looked at Nico. He looked at Nico with all the love and fondness in his eyes as he used to. With a love and fondness that shouldn’t be possible anymore.

If for some reason Jason decided he no longer wanted to be with Nico, or if he was angry for Nico not saying anything, or say he’s wrong and Jason doesn’t actually remember? Or heavens forbidden, none of it is actually real and it’s all some twisted dream? Then Nico wouldn’t be able to live. Having to see and be with Jason in a state where he couldn’t actually be with Jason was a form of torture more cruel and heartless then anything else imaginable. He would not survive the heartbreak of losing Jason a second time. He had answers now. Finally, the answers were right in front of him, but because there was that small possibility, no matter even if it was only a 2% that he’d lose Jason again, he wasn’t willing to take it. That small chance shook down to his core and froze his blood solid in his veins.

He didn’t want the answers. He was too afraid to get the wrong one. So, he ran. He would have rather ran that hear the wrong answer. He ran so he wouldn’t have to hear that answer. Because as much love and fondness as Nico saw in those blue eyes, there was also something else. There was the smallest glimpse, nothing more then a spark but it was a spark that held confusion and pain and anger, and he wasn’t going to wait around for that spark to catch fire.

When Nico finally stumbles into his own apartment, soaking wet and cold, he comes face to face with Reyna, and unfortunately Piper. Piper looks at him with shock and alarm, but Reyna’s eyes darken as she takes in the sight before her. He tries to convey to her all his panic and fear and sorrow with a single look and thankfully she understands.

 Reyna wraps her arms around him, and carefully leads them to his bedroom. She helps him change but he doesn’t want to. The clothes he wears are Jason’s. Soaking wet or not they make him feel warm and comfortable and yet they feel so heavy. He wants to keep them, but she fights him for them and in the end, she has more strength at the moment. She makes him change and she helps him lie down in the bed and she tucks the blanket in around him and promises to bring Jason’s clothes back hen they’re dry.

She left him in the darkness and comfort of his own room. Left him to stare at the ceiling and call upon the memory of Jason’s kisses. If he closes eyes he can still feel it. Jason’s lips still so soft and warm and gentle right on his own.

A happy memory, for getting to kiss Jason again is something he’s prayed for constantly since the day he lost him. A happy memory because the feeling of those lips is no longer a distant memory.

A sad memory because it might be the last time he gets to do such a thing. A sad memory because he didn’t have the courage to follow through with what could have possibly been a happy memory.

After all.

A memory is still a memory.

Outside the room he can hear Reyna and Piper talking. Arguing, really. No raised voiced but all their words had a sharpness to them. An edge that pricked his skin.

“I don’t understand him! How could he do that to Jason!” Piper snaps, and Nico reels into himself, curling up into the tiniest ball he can manage. It seems she knows, whether Reyna told her, or she figured it out doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because she’s right. Him withholding the truth without a doubt is hurtful to Jason, and Nico doesn’t quite understand why he did it either. He loved Jason, He loves Jason, loves him with all his heart but he was afraid. He was so very afraid, and he was worried, and he was nervous. He loved Jason but that fear that Jason wouldn’t love him back was more powerful.

“It’s complicated” Reyna defends, and Nico nods to himself in agreement because she’s also right. It was very complicated. Nothing about their situation was easy in the slightest. Once it was undeniable that Jason was still attracted to him, memories or not, it became a matter of how and when. When is the right time to tell someone that they’re actually the lost, previously-assumed-dead love of their life? More importantly, how do you say that to someone? He didn’t know how he was supposed to tell Jason the truth, and then add on top of the fact the reason he never said anything in the beginning. How was he supposed to tell him and just hope Jason accepted it as the truth?

So, Nico came up with a plan to try and help Jason remember him. He tried replicating their first date as best he could. Obviously, he couldn’t do every detail, but he was hopping to get enough to jog even the tiniest memory. He wore the same clothes, that same exact shirt that gave life to Jason’s favorite color. They went to the movies, just like the first time, and while they couldn’t see the same movie, they saw one from the same genre. He pulled the same move with the cuddling in the theater and he got Jason to take him to McDonalds, just like the first time. The rain derailed his plans. He wasn’t expecting the storm, or at least wasn’t expecting it to affect him so strongly.

Suddenly the front door opens and closes and then Reyna is sitting on the edge of his bed.

“I am sorry if I ruined your date” He croaks out, he can only assume the sound he heard was that of Piper leaving. He honestly didn’t know the two knew eachother, but he knows Reyna doesn’t spend her time with just anyone, he honestly feels bad for interrupting. He adds it to the list of guilt that’s beginning to eat away at him.

“I am sorry yours apparently didn’t go as planned” She counters, placing her hand gently on his back. He curls up further, burying himself deep within his blankets.

“I think it might have gone too well” He admits, and Reyna hums in thought.

“He remembers?” she asks, to which Nico only nods.

“Then why are you here and not with him?”

“Because I am an idiot” he moans, and she laughs, leaning forward to rub his back in a soothing motion that convinces him to uncurl just a bit. For some reason, he always feels a bit stronger with Reyna beside him.

“You’re not an idiot, Nico. You’re just scared, and I think that’s pretty reasonable” she hesitates “although, I wish you would have at least put your shoes on” she complains, and Nico manages a slight snort in amusement. Running barefoot through the street, even in the rain, sadly isnt a new experience to Nico. Reyna’s concern is understandable though, it was a pretty dumb decision on his end.

“So, during all that running, did you ever think about the possibility that he might chase you?” She ponders, and Nico’s eyes go wide because no, no he didn’t. He didn’t think about the slight chance that Jason might chase after him.

“Seriously Nico? From what I know of Jason’s character, and what everyone’s told me about your relationship, that boy would walk across the earth on hot coals for you. Did you really think he wouldn’t come back for you?”

“I didn’t think about it” He shakes his head. He didn’t think about it. But now he was. He can’t stop thinking about Jason chasing him through the rain. Jason barging into his room. Jason swooping Nico up into his arms and kissing him and telling him that he remembers, and he loves him and he isnt mad.

He can’t stop thinking about Jason sitting at home. On his couch. Head in his hands. Confused. In pain. Mad. Furious even. Jason refusing to ever look at Nico again, let alone coming to find him.

He doesn’t know which ones scares him more, the idea that Jason could be there any second, or the idea that Jason might never show at all. He doesn’t know if he wants Jason to chase after him or not. Chasing him would be an answer in and of itself. One Nico wouldn’t be able to ignore but one he wouldn’t know what to do with.

One he’s going to have to figure out what to do with because someone is suddenly knocking on the door.

 

 

 

 

 

\-------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He Knows. Jason knows. He feels Nico’s lips, warm and slightly chapped and hesitant but perfect, he feels those lips on his own, and he knows instantly that it’s not the first time they’ve kissed. His blood burns through his veins, and his heart nearly pounds out of his chest. It feels right. It feels so right to him. It feels like something he’s done a million times and like something he wants to do a million times more. 

He leans in, goes to kiss Nico again because he wants to. He wants to so badly and he needs to check. He needs to be sure of that feeling. There’s always that chance that he’s imagining things. That that feeling is just his pure excitement for finally achieving what he’s been so desperately craving.

Just before he can press their lips together again, Nico’s scrambling away from him as if he’d been electrocuted. Jason’s mind is reeling. Trying to piece things together. That feeling. The way Nico kissed him. Why he kissed him. Why he wouldn’t kiss him again. And then Nico’s running out the door. Running away from him.

Jason’s head is spinning because he knows. He knew.

When Nico stepped out of the shower in nothing but his boxers and Jason’s own jacket, he knew. He’d be lying if he tried to say he’d never imagined Nico in a sexual light. He has. Oh, he has many, many times. He’d dreamt several times about the sight that emerged before him, and when he finally saw it in person, he stopped dead in his tracks. Not because his imagination didn’t do Nico justice, oh no, it had done him perfectly.

He never noticed the detailing in his dreams, and he never questioned why he would imagine Nico with such scars, he was always too focused on the action. Now he can’t stop questioning it. He had pinpointed every last scar. He knew every scar on Nico’s body. He knew exactly where they were placed, how long or wide they were, and he knew what they felt like. He ran his fingers over Nico’s skin, over the scars, and again he knows it has to be something he’s done before. But how. How was he allowed to do something so personal, so intimate?

Nico talked about his scars, and Jason knew every story to be true. Nothing surprised him. He heard nothing that he hadn’t heard before. It was all already fact to him, well known knowledge buried somewhere in his brain.

The only ones that felt knew where the ones on Nico’s shoulders. The ones that were dated perfectly, placed so conveniently on the time line. His heart clenched, and pang of guilt rushed through him. He didn’t have to ask how Nico got those ones.

He did have to ask, however, why Nico was scared of the storm. Thunder clashes outside and Jason’s mind flashes to the sound of breaking glass and screeching breaks and the sight of Nico clutching at his hand in the car. Jason knows it can’t be a coincidence that they’re both afraid of lightning.

Nico claims he’d always been afraid of storms, but it got worse when the night the love of his life went missing.

Everything clicked into place to easily. Everything fit together perfectly, and everything made so much sense. Jason just knew now.

Jason knows their date tonight wasn’t their first. In fact, he knows it was an exact replica of their first. He can’t remember their first, but he knows.

He can’t remember all the details. He can’t remember the first thing he said to Nico, or the first day they met. He doesn’t remember the first time they kissed or the first time they got intimate or the first time he met Nico’s family. He can’t remember the first time they spent the night together or the first time Nico opened up to him. He can’t remember when he first learned about Nico’s past, about his pain. He doesn’t remember how they confessed or the first time they said, ‘I love you’.

He can’t remember it. But he knows it’s there. He knows. He knows he loves Nico. He knows he’s always loved Nico, and he knows Nico loves him back, always has.

What he doesn’t know. The one thing he doesn’t understand;

Why didn’t Nico tell him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Only two more to go!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I suck. Sorry this took so long to get to you guys. My life is kind of garbage jumble right now. Right when I thought things were getting better, they got worse. I really am sorry guys. I finally have a free day in my messy, messy life so I thought I'd get this to you while I could... Trust me, editing this was far from easy.   
> Hopefully the last chapter doesn't take me as long to edit.   
> Hope you guys like it!

_The first time Jason lays eyes on Nico Di Angelo, it’s his photo being displayed on the morning news. The words ‘Missing’ written in bold red letters floating just above his head. ‘Karma’ his step mother had muttered under her breath. His father only scoffed in disapproval. Both his parents clearly held no malice for Nico himself, but the hatred they felt for his father, over ancient and buried things caused them to have zero empathy for the loss of the young boy. How his own parents could lack so much sympathy, how they could be so heartless truly dumfounded Jason._

_That day, those still brown eyes seemed to lock onto his and something in his chest screamed “Find me!”_

 

_-_

_And find him he did. Not right away. No, it took a while. First, he needed to find Hazel Levesque. Jason’s good friend and Nico Di Angelo’s half-sister. She wasn’t very hard to find, because technically she found Jason. Many people assumed that Nico was some kind of run-away, just another kid trying to rebel against his parents by taking off. It doesn’t help that he’d been reported missing several times before. Because of this, many people weren’t very supportive of Nico Di Angelo’s case. The cops seemed to slack off. They didn’t care enough to try._

_So, Hazel wanted to start her own search and rescue party. Probably wasn’t the smartest or the safest idea for a bunch of teenagers, but when she approached Jason with tears in her eyes there was no way he could say no. Admittedly, a small part of him wanted to. They were kids, they had no business running an investigation. It wasn’t their job. He also knew that it would earn him a ton of backlash from his parents. But Hazels eyes, dark and scared and filled with hope reminded him so much of the eyes in her brother’s photo, only his eyes held much more fear and much less hope._

_Jason joined her group knowing that there might be consequences, and he was followed by many of their other friends. Including one Perseus Jackson, who had made it clear he didn’t want to be there. Percy was among those who thought Nico had just run away again. Percy was around when Nico took off the first time, and just by the look on his face when it was mentioned, you can tell he had something to do with it. The look in Percy’s eyes the first time he showed up to the group reminded him much of his parents. He seemed so angry, and resentful. He obviously didn’t want to be there, but he was there regardless._

_The group pieced together information and they went on searches and they investigated as much as they could, but there wasn’t a lot to go on._

_If it weren’t for Hazel, they would have never found Nico._

_Two days into their investigation, and Hazel started having nightmares. Terrible dreams that gave her little clues about her brother’s whereabouts and his captors and his state. Hazel was convinced that they were messages from Nico. She would never give the specifics, never really tell what she saw in them, only what they told her. They were too terrifying to retell._

_Almost a week into their investigation, and Hazels nightmares finally lead them to an abandoned lot at the edge of town. The group split up into several smaller groups to search different large shipping containers, a clue given away to Hazel the night before._

_The group that found Nico consisted of Hazel, Percy Jackson and his girlfriend Annabeth Chase, and Jason Grace himself. They found Nico in a rusted, dark shipping container, sprawled out on the floor surrounded by blood and broken shards of glass._

_The world seemed to freeze. Hazel collapsed to her knees at the sight, Annabeth Gasped and covered her face, Percy froze in his spot. Jason was the only one still moving. He rushed to Nico’s side, and scooped him up in his arms._

_He was running on auto-pilot, completley on adrenaline and instinct. He doesn’t know what compelled him to do any of this but he’s glad he did it. He checked for Nico’s breathing, he wasn’t. He searched for a pulse and after a terrifying few seconds, he found it. Low and too slow for liking but it was there. He tried to hold Nico up as carefully as he could. Trying his best to avoid the pieces of glass wedged into the boys back._

_“We need to get him out of here!” Jason told them. But no one moved. Hazels breathing became frantic as she went into a panic, Annabeth couldn’t bare to look, and Percy couldn’t look away._

_“If we don’t get him out of here now he’s going to die!” He snaps, frustration and fear quickly pooling in his gut. Nico groans in his arms and the broken sound of his voice seems to awaken the others. Percy and Annabeth rush to call for help, and Hazel scrambles to Jason, still sobbing and hands shaking as she does her best to help move her brother._

_Standing up and walking is a struggle. He cradles the fragile Di Angelo as close to his chest as he can. His chest burns with the fear that the boy in his arms might crumble apart at any second, and he shudders at the feeling of warm blood soaking onto his shirt and skin._

_Suddenly Nico gasps, and his eyes pop open to stare up at Jason. They gaze at him with fear and pain and hatred but there’s this tiny light hiding in the depths of those sad dark eyes and Jason’s heart thuds with something other then adrenaline. Nico’s eyes flutter back shut, and he leans into Jason and that’s the moment Jason swears to himself that he’d never let Nico Di Angelo be hurt ever again._

_One of the first things Jason learns for himself about Nico is that he’s incredibly stubborn. After they rescued Nico, he was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room for treatment. His story was in the news for a total of 15 minutes. “15-year-old boy found nearly dead in shipping container” was the headline. All they did was announce that the missing boy had been found severely injured and was now resting safely in the hospital. They never released any details. Never mentioned that Nico was found by friends, not by police. They never said whether or not his captors had been found and prosecuted or if authorities even knew who was at fault. They didn’t go into the injuries he had, how long he’d been there, or how his recovery was going. They wasted no more time on him then they needed to._

_Hazel kept Jason frequently updated on Nico’s progress though. She didn’t question why he had requested to be, only respected the wish. Hazel seemed to understand something Jason didn’t. When he came to her house the day after the rescue to ask about her brother, she looked at him with confusion for a solid minute before understanding illuminated her eyes. She didn’t ask, she didn’t pry, she simply seemed to understand that there was now an unspoken connection between her brother and Jason._

_Three days after his rescue, Nico demands to be discharged from the hospital, and after a lot of arguing, he is. His entire family said it was too early, but Nico insisted on returning to his normal life. Although he could barely walk, was still extremely mal nourished, and was obviously emotionally and physically damaged, he returned to school a few days later._

_Jason spotted Nico in the hallways on his first day back, right before their lunch period, getting knocked to the floor by a group of kids. Jason watched Nico Di Angelo’s frail body scatter against the tile and his heart dropped. He rushed forward without thinking, adrenaline already kicking in. The kids took one look at Jason stocking towards them, looking angrier then most had ever seen him, and they took off in the opposite direction._

_He crouched down in front of Nico, stomach sinking as he observed the beaten boy before him. His skin was so pale, the bags beneath his eyes were so dark and deep. There were bruises, cuts and scars tacked all over his body. There were bloodied bite marks in his dry, crackled lips, his hair was an unbrushed mess, and his clothes several sizes too big for his deprived body. He looked awful, to put it simply. Yet, to Jason, he still looked oddly beautiful. He thinks it might be because of the fact that Nico, despite being so hurt and so scared, still decided to come to school. He obviously wasn’t ready, but he chose to come back. Jason found that courage extremely attractive, and that’s probably why he found Nico beautiful, despite him looking like a rag doll that had been tossed out a window._

_Jason offered a helping hand, and Nico being the stubborn brat he was, ignored it. Jason was just as stubborn about offering Nico help as Nico was about refusing it._

_Jason’s heart pounded with anxiety and fear and need. He was so afraid that Nico would collapse at any moment, so scared that he would just shatter. His whole body ached to help Nico. His soul begged him to protect Nico. He didn’t really understand why but he needed to be there for Nico. He needed it. After Jason honestly confesses that he just wants to make sure Nico gets home safely, Nico actually gives in._

_Jason walked along side him in silence until they made it to the Di Angelo residence, and he’s glad he did. The walk to Nico’s house was long, a 45-minute walk from the school, and the path he took often didn’t involve sidewalk, and at one point they trekked along the outskirts of a small forest. Which is apparently where Nico was taken the first time. It wasn’t the safest route home, and Jason kept a close, watchful eye on Nico at all times._

_The only words they said to eachother after the first conversation was “Good Bye” once Nico was safely in his house and they parted ways._

_-_

 

_Jason doesn’t really understand what it is about Nico Di Angelo that drives his protective instincts wild, but he’s learned not to try and fight it._

_The very next day, Nico never came to school. Jason talked to Hazel the second he realized that the other Di Angelo wasn’t around, searching for answers. Hazel instantly thanked Jason for walking Nico home, then told him that Nico was forced to realize he wasn’t as strong as he thought and will be staying home a few more days to recover._

_Jason felt immediately relieved to learn that Nico would finally get a chance to heal properly. Still, something sank in his gut knowing that he wouldn’t see Nico again for a few days._

_That didn’t last long. At the end of the week, Hazel sought ought Jason and asked him to take her brother his homework for the week because she had plans for the night. Jason didn’t really understand why she would ask him to do it, or why she couldn’t just give it to Nico later whenever she got back. But he wasn’t going to complain. He jumped for the offer without hesitation._

_After School, Hazel gave Jason a big folder with all the homework and notes Nico had missed for the week. He practically rushed to Nico’s house, only making one small detour to pick up a peace offering._

_Jason remembers how disappointed and terrified he felt when he was greeted at the front door of the Di Angelo manner by Nico’s father, rather then Nico himself._

_“Can I help you?” His rough voice struck fear down Jason’s spine, but he braced himself anyway. With Hayden Di Angelo standing before him, a lawyer who dressed, looked, and acted like a mafia boss from an old black and white movie, Jason suddenly understood where Nico gets his personality from._

_“I am… I uh I am here to bring Nico his... uhm... His stuff… His stuff from school…” He stuttered, trying his hardest not to break under Hayden’s steel glare. A single look from Hayden Di Angel was rumored to be able to ruin your life, or even kill you in seconds. Apparently, that’s a skill Nico inherited, and had mastered as well. Nico had certainly taken over Jason’s life with just a look. That’s all Jason had to remind himself of in order to straighten his back, tuck his courage back in the right spot, and clear his throat._

_“Hazel asked me to bring Nico his school work for the week” He reiterated, and Hayden’s eyes traveled down to the items clutched tightly in his hands._

_“And what” Hayden started, eyes skipping from the folder to the paper bag hanging from Jason’s left first. “Is that?” He asked, and Jason hesitated, taking a moment to look down at the fast food bag himself._

_“I thought Nico might like something to eat?” He tried, and honestly, he isnt sure what possessed him to stop and get the meal._

_“You couldn’t bring my son something healthier?” Hayden raised one dark eyebrow, and Jason took a deep breath to retain his posture, then he shrugged._

_“It’s not my first choice either, but Hazel told me he really loves McDonalds, and I figured a bit of comfort food might be nice” The head of the Di Angelo house hold stared at him for a moment, gaze unwavering before he suddenly opened the door wide, and stepped aside for Jason._

_“You’re the Grace kid, Right?” Hayden asked as Jason cautiously slipped into the warm exterior of the home, feeling oddly like an animal walking straight into a cage. All the emphasis in the sentence was on his last name._

_“Yeah” He nodded, and Hayden hummed deep in thought, reminding Jason of his parent’s old petty rivalries._

_“If you think I am here to somehow mock or hurt Nico, you’re wrong. I am not as heartless as my parents” He quickly corrected the thoughts he assumed Mr. Di Angelo was having, and he was met with a short chuckle._

_“I figured that one out already” He said, and suddenly all of the nerves that were on edge were calmed._

_“Nico’s room is up the stairs, Last door on the right” He’s told, and then just like that, Hayden disappears, and Jason’s trekking up the stairs, feeling like a knight on some long journey to save the princess. However, Nico isnt helpless, judging by the way he angrily yanked open the door when Jason knocked._

_“Grace?” He gaped, standing in his doorway wearing nothing but a baggy t-shirt and a pair of black boxers. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, his grip on the door tightened, ready to slam it in Jason’s face at any moment._

_“Hazel had me bring you your school work. Brought you a snack too, heard you like McDonalds?” He hung his peace offering bag directly in front of Nico’s face, and Nico glared at it, examining it as if looking for traps._

_“Thanks?” He said slowly, releasing his hold on the door to carefully take the bag from Jason._

_“You didn’t have to though” He adds on as Jason handed him the folder._

_“But I wanted to” He said quickly. Nico stared at him with a quirked eyebrow, and Jason’s heart thudded, and he could feel his mouth go dry._

_“Thanks…” Nico repeated. Jason took a minute to observe the way Nico was healing. There was still a good amount of injuries obvious on his body, but bruises were now starting to fade, and cuts were starting to scab. The bags under his eyes were just as intense though, and Jason briefly worried that he wasn’t getting enough sleep. He also looked a bit thicker, not by much, but enough to tell that he will eventually recover from the malnourishment._

_“No problem… My uhm… My Phone Number is in the folder if you need anything, I am always available… See you back at school…” Jason dismissed himself with a small smile and an awkward wave, not giving time for Nico to respond before he booked it out of the house. Why he suddenly lost all his courage and calm he’s not sure. He just knew in that moment that the moment was over, and he needed to get out._

_He only regretted the decision an hour later, when his phone suddenly buzzed, and he finds a brand-new text message from an unknown number._

_‘Thanks for the comfort food’_

_-_

_The boys texted somewhat after that. Not a lot. They said, “Good Morning” and “Good Night” every day, and Nico would occasionally text Jason to ask for help on a homework problem, Jason would sometimes ask him how his recovery was going._

_On Nico’s first day back to school again, Jason met him in the halls before his first class and walked him there. He walked Nico to and from every class that day like a body guard, daring anyone who passed them to mess with Nico again. Jason knows that Nico doesn’t actually need protection, at least not usually. He needed it while he was still healing, he was still weak and fragile. Jason was more then happy to follow him through the school. He had Nico sit with him at lunch as well, which was such a surreal thing. No one had ever actually seen Nico in the cafeteria before. But he sat down beside Jason at the table with their other friends, pointedly ignoring the eyes of Percy and Annabeth’s eyes as he talks quietly with Jason and Hazel. Jason didn’t learn why Nico avoided the couple like the plague for a while, and when he finally understood, anger and frustration and tiniest bit of jealousy nipped away at his gut._

_That day wasn’t even the technical start of their friendship. For the next week and a half, Nico danced around Jason carefully, each day trying to prod and snoop around him, trying to figure exactly what it was Jason got out of following Nico around like a well-trained guard dog. His investigation was fruitless, considering Jason himself had no idea why he was so determined to gain Nico’s trust._

_Their real friendship started almost two weeks later, on one Thursday night when Nico asked Jason to come help him study. Nico was struggling with his math class, and Jason had taken the same class, same teacher, and everything the year before, and had already been helping him with some homework. He had a test to take the next day and was terrified he wouldn’t pass._

_Jason rushed to Nico’s aid. “My hero” Nico had joked when he greeted him at the front door. They studied for three hours. They used flash cards and practiced problems. There was a lot of groaning, a lot of cursing, and a lot of complaining. Jason kept drilling problems into Nico’s brain until Nico was 100% confident that he’d pass. When Jason started to pack up his stuff, Nico suddenly asked him to spend the night. “It’s too late, you shouldn’t drive home in the middle of the night” He claimed, but it wasn’t that late, and it certainly wasn’t the latest Jason had been out, but he didn’t fight it._

_He settled right into Nico’s room for the night. They snuck into the kitchen for some snacks, and they played video games for hours until Nico passed out slouched against Jason’s shoulder. Up until that moment in his life, when Jason had to gently scoop up a sleeping Nico to tuck him into bed, Jason’s heart had never beat so fast._

_He wanted to curl in bed next to him, but instead he fell asleep on the floor just below. They both slept soundly until the morning, and two hours into the school day, making Nico miss his test._

_They were inseparable from that point on._

_-_

_Nico and Jason started doing everything together. Jason always walked Nico to every class, and he took him to and from school. Nico spent every break and lunch comfortably at Jason’s side. They took turns spending the weekends at eachother houses, helping eachother with school work, playing video games, watching cheesy movies on Netflix, and swapping stories till the early hours of the morning._

_About a month and a half into this, they started getting more comfortable with eachother. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to a lot, but to those who knew Nico, they knew something was going on. Nico was much more physical with Jason then others. He stood closer to him, leaned into him, they’d bump shoulders. He never jumped when Jason would put a hand on his shoulder or back like he did with others. Somewhere in this time, Jason spent the night at Nico’s again, but this time, unlike all the others, they both fell asleep in Nico’s bed, and they woke up the next morning tangled around eachother like a couple of needy octopuses. It was a tad awkward, they both rushed to apologize, but they quickly learned that neither minded, and that they actually slept better when they were closer. So, they started sharing the bed every time after that._

_Everyone around them started to notice how clingy they got over time. The little extra affections like standing shoulder to shoulder and the calming hand on the others back eventually turned to ‘jokingly’ holding hands and Nico sitting in his lap and Jason carrying him around and leaning on eachother in front of everyone the way the would in private. They grew so close and comfortable with eachother and they didn’t even notice._

_Jason didn’t even realize that he was in love with Nico. He was probably in love with Nico the second he scooped the injured boy into his arms the very first time back in that storage container. He was most likely in love with Nico for every second of their journey and he didn’t even realize it until Nico jokingly said the words. “You’re lucky I love you, Jace” he laughed, and it was something so insignificant and stupid, but it made Jason’s heart explode and his head swim and everything seemed to click in place._

_-_

 

_On Nico’s 16 th birthday, he had a small party at his house. And by small party he means Nico, Hazel and Jason all curled up on the couch together to marathon Nico’s favorite movies. Around 1AM, Nico passed out, once again slumped against Jason’s shoulder. He and Hazel said their ‘Good Nights’ and they parted ways, Jason carefully maneuvering Nico into his arms to carry him back to his bedroom._

_He set Nico down in his bed and crawled in right next to him. Jason, trying to have some self-control and to respect Nico’s boundaries, laid on his side, facing away from the beautiful boy just inches away from him. He’d been aware of his own emotions for a while now. Known he was in love with Nico. What he didn’t see was that Nico loved him just as much. He was in denial. Insistent that Nico could never see him as more then a friend._

_That all changed when they woke up._

_“Sorry, Guess I really am a clingy sleeper” Nico laughed awkwardly. He was half on top of Jason. Their legs were intertwined, Nico had one arm draped over Jason’s stomach the other resting uncomfortably between them. His head, and a good portion of his torso laid gently on Jason’s chest. Despite his words, he made no effort to move away, and Jason was glad. He wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, and allowed his other arm to trace up his spine, assuring Nico that he was comfortable with their position._

_“It’s okay” Jason whispered, trying to savor every last bit of Nico’s touch while he could, trying to memorize every last detail because he never knew when or if he might get it to feel it again._

_“Bet you’re getting pretty tired of me using you as a teddy bear, huh?” Nico said, but he didn’t sound amused, he sounded scared. Like he expected Jason to reject him. He expected Jason to revolt. He was waiting to be turned away and denied._

_“Never” Jason quickly shook his head. “I could never get tired of this. I could wake up to you like this every single morning for the rest of my life and I would never get tired of it” He admitted, desperately praying that Nico couldn’t hear how rapid his heart was beating. Nico shifted, propped himself up on one elbow to stare up at Jason with shock and hope glistening in his dark eyes. Jason, a sudden surge of courage flooding his veins, lifted his hand to caress the side of Nico’s face._

_“I will never get tired of you Nico” He reiterated. “I love you” He confessed. He doesn’t know why he chose then and there to do it. But there was no way he couldn’t say it. Nico was so close to him, his skin burned every where they touch, his heart beat in his chest like a heavy drum and Nico was looking at him so intensely. The words just formed naturally on his tongue, they were out of his mouth before he could even realize it, but he doesn’t regret it for a second._

_Nico, at a momentary loss of words, decided to speak with actions. He surged forward, slamming his lips to Jason’s in a rather aggressive but passionate kiss. It was quick, and it was messy, but it was perfect. Nico pulled away after a second, resting his forehead against Jason’s as they both rushed to catch their breath._

_“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while” Nico made a confession of his own, going in to give Jason another small, chaste kiss. “I love you too, Jay” Jason pulled him in for another, much longer kiss._

_They spent the whole morning kissing and talking through their feelings and discussing what dating would be like. They said “I love you” at least another ten times each before night fall. It’s the best day of Jason’s life._

_-_

 

_Two days later, Jason came to pick up Nico for their first date. Jason stepped up to the Di Angelo house hold, heart pounding and hands shaking. He was nervous, but more excited then anything. He was about to take the man he loved on a date. He’d been waiting months for this. He’d spent months of pining and day dreaming and inner turmoil, and finally all of it was over. There was no more waiting. Dreams were a reality now. Nico opened the door, slowly, instantly locking eyes with Jason, and looking just as anxious and excited as Jason himself did. Nico looked beautiful. To Jason he always looked beautiful, but this was something different. He was all dressed up in a gorgeous, deep midnight blue button up shirt, with tight black jeans. His hair had been neatly combed into a short ponytail. Nico would give even the most famous of models a run for their money. In Jason’s opinion, Nico was the most beautiful thing. A sight Jason’s memory would savor forever._

_They wanted to keep their date simple, and familiar. A night at the theater, watching the cheesiest romance movie they could find playing. Jason, with in seconds of sitting down pulled that terrible cheesy move where he pretended to yawn and stretch in order to wrap around Nico. Nico just laughed at the ridiculous gesture, but accepted it anyway, moving the arm rest between them to burry himself in Jason’s side. They spent more of the movie whispering and joking then actually watching the movie. That’s alright though. The movie itself wasn’t what mattered, the experience was, and besides, they rented and re-watched it later when it came out on DVD. Outside of the theater, Nico curled into Jason’s side to suck up every last bit of his warmth, so Jason handed over his jacket to the colder boy, but that did nothing to stop the clinging. Not that Jason was complained Nico however did, he was complained about being hungry, and that’s how they ended up at McDonalds. In line at the fast food place, there happened to be a guy waiting behind them, a guy who had made it too clear and too obvious that he was checking out Nico. This was the first time that it really clicked in Jason’s mind how different their official status really was. Up until that moment, the only thing about their relationship that had changed, was the kissing. But this was a tiny, pleasant curve-ball. It’s not the first time that someone had made a move on Nico while he was hanging out with Jason._

_Nico is a very attractive guy, so of course it’s not uncommon for other people to think so. However, usually, when this sort of thing happened, Jason felt powerless. Unless Nico asked him to intervene (which he had once or twice before), Jason could do nothing but stare and seep in his jealousy and anger. Now, when the situation presented itself, Jason was free to make a noticeable move. He still wouldn’t do anything then Nico would be comfortable with, obviously he wasn’t going to make out with him right there in the store, but he could establish their relationship. He wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, pulled him tight to his side, and gave him a gentle kiss on top his head. Nico melted into Jason’s touch as fast as butter in a hot pan. The guy behind them moved his line of sight elsewhere, and the couple was able to get their meal and eat in peace. The date ended rather untraditionally for a first date. Jason went home with Nico. There was no ‘goodbye kiss’ because there was no goodbye. Jason stayed the night with Nico, as he usually did. Neither of them wanted the night to end, they didn’t want to lose the other, so they mutually decided not to. Instead, they curled into bed together, quietly chatted about the movie, and made plans for their second date before falling asleep in eachother arms._

 

_-_

 

_After that they’re even clingier with each other. Absolutely inseparable. There was almost never one without the other. Things got a bit rough though. Nico got a lot of backlash at school. There were rumors flying long before they got together, and after, well the student body nearly exploded with gossip. Jason’s not surprised by the homophobia, but he’s surprised by the mass amount of it. He knew it wouldn’t be completely easy, but he wasn’t expecting so much trouble. He also wasn’t expecting Nico to bear the brunt of it. He figured it would be an even thing, a united front, but that wasn’t the case. Nico got a lot more shit then Jason did. Nico heard a lot more terrible things, got called worse things. Most people were too afraid of Jason to confront him, so they took it all out on Nico. Admittedly, Nico even got in a few fights over it. Jason tried to help best he could, tried to protect him best he could but it never seemed to be enough._

_Eventually the school craze died down, and they thought it was over, until Jason’s parents caught wind of the news. Jason heard a new lecture almost every day. His stepmother wasn’t very happy to find out that her son was in a gay relationship, but nothing angered his parents more then learning that he was in love with a Di Angelo. The fact that their perfect golden boy was dating the son of one of their oldest enemies was purely disgusting to them. They accused Jason of betraying them for it. They called Jason a long list of names he shouldn’t repeat, and they called Nico an even worse set of things. Hera started bringing Jason home pictures and literal resumes from daughters of her friends as potential dating candidates for him. His father stopped talking to him all together. Eventually Jason stopped going home. He started spending more and more time at Nico’s house._

_For a long time, none of the Di Angelo’s questioned it. They had just accepted Jason as a part of their household. Hazel greeted him every morning the same way she greeted Nico. Nico’s stepmother and step-grandmother had automatically started including Jason in meal plans, and Hayden had slowly stopped glaring at Jason, and had even started nodding to him in casual acknowledgement._

_Hayden was still the first one to question it. After a good month of Jason crashing at the Di Angelo place, Hayden finally asked him during dinner._

_“Joining us again, Grace?” he said, his voice as calm and cold as ever. There was never really a way of telling what mood Hayden Di Angelo was in. It was always best to tread lightly._

_“If that’s alright with you, Sir?” Jason asked as he slides into the chair beside Nico, who watched the interaction between his father and his boyfriend with cautious eyes._

_“It’s fine, I would just like to know why” He stated. He wasn’t asking Jason to tell him, not really, he was demanding._

_“Well, Sir” Jason cleared his throat, keeping his gaze steady. In his time in the house, Jason learned that it’s best to face the Di Angelo’s head on, not giving them a blind spot to strike you in, watching them carefully and holding your confidence as much as possible. “My parents told me ‘No son of ours would ever date such a creature’, So I am not their son anymore” He shrugs casually as he retells one of the harsher things his parents had told them, still cutting out some of the more brutal things that sentence originally held._

_Beside him, Nico’s body turns to solid ice, and Hayden quirks a curious eyebrow._

_“You would choose my son over your own parents?” He asked, sounding genuinely intrigued by Jason’s decision. Beneath the table, Jason’s hand sneaked over to Nico’s lap, to give his knee a comforting squeeze._

_“Their petty grudge means more to them then my happiness, that’s not a good parent. I am not obligated to love someone who doesn’t love me. Nico means more to then they ever could” Nico laid a hand over Jason’s hand, entangling them together, and squeezed in appreciation. ‘I love you’ it says, and Jason returned the gesture._

_Hayden stared at Jason for a second, everyone else at the table shocked silent before Hayden did the unexpected and busted into a happy laugh._

_“Jason, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want” he said, giving Jason a small smile after his laughter settled. Jason returned the smile._

 

_-_

_Jason occasionally did go home, usually just for a few hours, or over night but he was never there long enough to interact with his parents. He went for his stuff, and then he’d be right back with Nico._

_The most interesting thing he learned about the Di Angelo family while with them was that they have a family game night. It always consisted of either movies, video games, or board games. Every other Sunday apparently. No matter what, they always cleared that Sunday night free. It was a lasting result of family therapy, according to Nico. After everything the Di Angelo’s suffered through, both individually and as a group, they ended up going to therapy. They all had private counselling sessions, and then once every two weeks, they’d go to group counseling to help them bond as a family. They no longer go, but the game night took its place. The first one Jason participated in was movie night. The second time was a board game night._

_They spent exactly 5 hours and 37 minutes playing monopoly. When the game was proposed, and Nico and Hazel groaned in protest, he assumed it was because Hayden (who proposed the game) always won. He was wrong. It was their stepmother, Persephone, who turned out to be completely overly competitive and a terrifying tycoon. Jason, ever determined, didn’t win, but he wound up in close second, and was praised for it._

_Nico and Hazel gabbed about how their parents battle it out every time, both of them desperately trying to beat the other while the rest of the Di Angelo’s just try not to go bankrupt in the first twenty minutes. Persephone gloated gracefully, but her and Demeter still congratulated him on his game. Hayden seemed the most amused, seeing as Jason had beat him, ending the game with a total of ten dollars more._

_“No ones ever beaten me but Seph, and no ones gotten close to beating her but me” Hayden chuckled as he slapped Jason’s back a bit harshly, but in obvious good comradery. “Good Job, Son” He laughed, playfully tossing Jason’s hair before standing to his feet, eager to stretch his legs after the long game. Jason sat there, frozen solid for a good minute, Nico having to literally pinch him back to reality._

_“Jason?” He asked in confusion, wondering why his boyfriends heart was beating so loudly and why his eyes looked so glazed. Jason’s face absolutely had to be red but he was more excited then embarrassed._

_“He called me ‘Son’” Jason announced in an excited whisper, even though all the adults had retreated to the kitchen, and it was only Hazel, Nico and Jason left in the living room._

_“What?” Nico asked with a slight laugh. “He called me ‘Son’, Nico! And he ruffled my hair!” He repeated it, as if it were an accomplishment worthy of a golden trophy. Nico chuckles in delight.  
“So?” He asked, and Jason just grinned. Nico might not fully understand what it meant to Jason, especially when he was unaware that Jason’s own father had never even come close to doing such a small but meaningful gesture. Nico was happy for him anyway, and every time Jason reminded him of it for the next week, he just laughed in delight. _

_-_

 

_Halloween was undoubtedly Nico’s favorite holiday, even though he had very few chances to actually celebrate it. Originally, Nico didn’t even want to go to the dance that their school was throwing on Halloween. It was Jason’s idea for the couple to attend. It took a lot of convincing and a bit of bribing before Nico actually consented to the party. Once it was a sure thing, Nico’s excitement grew more and more. He was more excited then anything about getting to wear a costume and not some stuffy suit. Jason, knowing his boyfriends deep love of pirates, planned ahead, and got himself a pirate costume to match Nico. Nico hadn’t expected it in the slightest but he absolutley loved the surprise._

_Nico was very, very fond of Jason’s pirate captain costume, if the look on his face was any indicator. Jason was a huge fan of Nico’s costume choice as well. His boyfriend had a pale white shirt on, with long sleeves that hung off his shoulders leaving so much of his skin exposed. He wore black leggings, a black strip of fabric wrapped around his hips, and leather boots reaching up to his knees where they folded. He even had a small wooden sword strapped to his waist. The school would probably confiscate it the second he walked through the doors, but Jason loved that adorable little detail._

_There was something about the costume, and the way Nico looked at him when he opened the door that drove Jason absolutley insane. In seconds he had Nico back in the house and pressed up against the hallway wall. He slammed his lips against Nico’s in one long, desperate kiss. Nico reciprocated happily, pressing his body forward to melt nicely into Jason’s touch. He quickly moved from Nico’s lips to that beautifully exposed strip of skin, pressing opened mouth kisses and the occasional nibble to his neck and down towards his shoulder. He left some pretty obvious marks, but he wasn’t embarrassed by them and he didn’t regret them. He wanted them there. They were right where everyone could see them, the dark bruises so wonderfully accentuated by the pale color of Nico’s shirt. He was very content with everyone seeing and knowing that Nico was his._

_It was a struggle for Jason to detach himself from his partner, but Nico eventually insisted they stick to their plans, even though it was obvious they were both tempted to just stay home for the night._

_Once at school, Jason had expected Nico to regret their decision, always one to be uncomfortable in such large crowds. Instead, Jason had settled his hand on the small of Nico’s back, and Nico looks up at him with a fond smile, and he never once complained for the night about being there. He seemed to genuinely enjoy it. He laughed and joked and had fun with all their other friends. He groaned and shoved off any questions about the marks on his neck. But he stayed at Jason’s side the whole time. Never once going where Jason couldn’t reach, and Jason kept his hand right there on Nico’s back. They leaned into eachother, and supported eachother silently. Jason knew if Nico was uncomfortable about a conversation, so he’d switch the topic. Nico knew exactly who Jason liked to avoid, so he’d steer them away. When he thinks about it now, he knows it was a beautiful attest to their relationship. They were there for eachother all night, there wasn’t a single moment where they strayed from the other._

_The best part of the night, admittedly, was when Percy all but shoved them into the photobooth. Their friends all said they looked to cute to not take the pictures, so they caved and did it, and he’s so happy that they did it._

_The pictures all came out perfect._

_You can’t even see Jason’s full face in the pictures, but you can see the love in his eyes when he looks at Nico and you can see how much Nico returns that feeling.  Jason couldn’t bring himself to look at anything but Nico. He looked so cute, so happy. Jason just wanted to savor the moment. Then Nico looked up at him. Looked him right in the eyes and something clicked between them. A mutual understanding._

_It was a single, simple moment that told them both how much they loved eachother. Next thing he knew Nico was pulling him down and trying to continue what they started back at the house. Eventually Annabeth had to pull them out of the booth so other people could take their turn, but the pictures were completley worth it. Nico forgot all about the slip, focused much more on Jason himself. So, Jason took that opportunity, and stole the photo booth slip before Nico got a chance to look at it._

_It took him a couple days, and a few different craft stores, but eventually Jason decorated the slip with little Halloween stickers that reminded him of Nico and of himself. A week after the party Jason returned the slip to Nico as a present and Nico loved it so much that he kissed just as hard as he had in the photo booth, but that time they went uninterrupted._

_-_

 

_Nico and Jason were, for the lack of a better term, a power couple. They were THE couple. Seemingly perfect. Nothing but love between them. Nothing but happiness. But that wasn’t really the case and they both knew that. They had their moments, they had their fights, but they always decided in the end that they loved eachother more than whatever they fought about._

_They fought a lot about health. Not so surprising, anyone who knows Nico knows he isnt the healthiest young man. He’d skip meals a lot, never ate enough, never ate right. It drove Jason insane. Jason just wanted Nico to be healthy. He just wanted to make sure Nico was okay. He admits sometimes he pushed it a little too hard, sometimes he’d get a bit impatient. He knows that, he excepts that fault._

_Nico would get mad when Jason put the mask back on. Nico didn’t like Jason’s golden boy persona. The image he flaunted at school and to his parents of being the perfect boy. Always nice, always understanding, always helpful, and always a pushover. Always doing what he’s told without question. Just taking and following orders. The one thing Jason refused to do, the one thing he always stood up for though was Nico. Nico was the only thing that knocked it off, so Nico hated it when he put it back on. Jason was perfect just the way he was. He was a better man without the mask. But the longer he wore it, the more people assumed that was the real Jason, and the more backlash whenever he took it off. Nothing hurt Nico more than the consequences Jason received for choosing him._

_A lot of people at school begun to shun him, many teachers started to look down on him, and his parents all but disowned him. All because he was dating another man. It’s sad, how many people say and pretend that they’re okay with homosexuality, but the second it’s in the same school as them, the same classroom, the same home, it’s not okay anymore. It’s only okay when it’s confined to social media. It’s fine when it’s in the news and on TV shows and in movies. But apparently the second it’s right in front of you, it’s not okay anymore. Nico hated, more then anything, the people who attacked Jason for his life style. He hated when Jason pretended to be okay when he clearly wasn’t._

_There were a lot of arguments about their mental health problems. Jason liked to put his issues on the back burner to take care of Nico. His boyfriend had been through so much more then him, his problems always seemed so miniscule to what he knew Nico was dealing with. Nico didn’t agree with that._

_‘Problems are problems, Jay’ he would scold Jason. Nico wanted to help bare his boyfriend’s problems, wanted to help him grow and heal. But Jason was stubborn. To be fair, Nico was just as bad. Nico went to therapy, but it didn’t seem to help him much. He said it made him feel uncomfortable, so he went less and less. His mental health didn’t get worse, but it didn’t improve._

_Nico and Jason both had a lot of baggage, a lot of skeletons in their closets. Getting together and falling in love didn’t change that. They weren’t magically healed by the power of love. It just gave them another reason to over come it, and it gave them someone to share it with. They weren’t struggling alone anymore. They tried. Nico often refused to call Jason after a breakdown or a nightmare. He’d say it wasn’t important, that he didn’t want to bug Jason or burden him. All Jason wanted was to be there for him. It killed him inside to know Nico was suffering and he couldn’t help him because he didn’t know. There’s not always a lot he can do, but he can at least try. He would hold Nico after nightmares. He would hold him after a breakdown. Remind him that things would be okay. Remind him that he’s safe. Anything he could to settle Nico’s mind he would. It was just rare for Nico to let him._

_There was one day, however. One day, one very bad day for Nico. A bad day that just kept getting worse. Jason doesn’t know all the details, but Nico was in a bad mood from the start. Sometime in the afternoon he had a breakdown. Still he didn’t call Jason._

_He didn’t call Jason until the storm outside started, and a particularly loud rumble of thunder spiked Nico’s anxiety._

_He texted Jason in a panic, and Jason promised to go to him._

_Jason didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He was out of bed the second he got the text._

_Hera had tried to stop Jason from leaving the house. She told him that Nico was a waste of time, and that if he left he shouldn’t come back. Jason didn’t even look at her as he walked through the door._

_He drove straight for Nico’s house. An unfortunate 20-minute drive from his house, but that didn’t matter._

_He’d drive across the country. He’d go to the other side of the world for Nico._

_His boyfriend needed him, and that was all the reason he needed to race home to him._

_He never got there though._

_It was a dark night. A bit past 11:30, the moon wasn’t very big or very bright that night and the rain blocked and blurred any other form of light._

_Jason was aware of this though. He took precautions. He had his lights on of course, his wind shield wipers worked perfectly, and he even went a bit under the speed limit just to be safe. He was a good driver, and he drove safely._

_Not everyone that night did though._

_10 minutes from Nico’s house, a large truck ran a red light, and t-boned Jason’s car. It rammed directly into his side of the car, partially crushing his body._

_His head must have slammed hard against the wheel or the dash board. He remembers his forehead feeling very hot, wet, and sticky. He remembers seeing the glass of his windshield shattered and littered everywhere. He could see blood. Blood on the fragments, on the road, on the steering wheel. Everything was dyed red. He remembers the sound of the rain pounding against his demolished car and seeing lightning strike down in the distance. He remembers the odd and terrifying sound of deep growling thunder mixing with the ambulance sirens._

_His vision slowly blurred and faded to black as he looked around in panic. He doesn’t know if he tried to move and couldn’t or didn’t bother to try at all. There was a flash of light, bright blinding yellow directly in his eyes. He could feel his heart pounding, so loud it almost sounded like it had popped out of his chest. His lungs burned as he struggled to breath and his body shook as he struggled with the shock._

_He doesn’t remember being pulled out or being taken to the hospital._

_He remembers what it felt like though. Crushed behind metal, bleeding and dyeing Jason still remembers exactly what it felt like._

_If he closes his eyes and tried, he could relive every last second of it._

_The only thing he couldn’t remember was what he was thinking about._

_No matter how hard he tried, Jason could never think about his accident, and remember where he was going, why and what he was thinking about while trapped in that car._

_Until now._

_His thoughts that night, in that moment, is the exact same thought he’s having right now:_

_“I need to get to Nico”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wild wide right? This chapter messes me up every time i read it. I am not always happy with it, but it is what it is, and I can't fix it the way I want to anymore. I tried to balance out all the angst with some fluff and happy? But yeah! Look at jason! Remembering! Hope you guys enjoy it, and I hope you stick around for the last chapter :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I can't believe we fell in love twice"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter, hope you guys like it.

Jason sits staring at the door. Body frozen. Blood burning. Mind racing. Heart pounding. He feels so overwhelmed with emotions and memories and thoughts. It’s too much. So much to process and he doesn’t know what to do with it. All he can bring himself to do is stare at the door where the love of his life stood just seconds ago. All he can do is look and wish that Nico was still standing before him. That’s the only coherent thought in his head. _‘Nico’_ his mind screams _. ‘I need to get to Nico.’_

He doesn’t know how long he actually sits there for. How long it’s been since Nico ran from him like a wounded animal. But it takes only seconds for Jason to scramble off the couch and run to his bedroom. He’s not sure what he’s doing or what he’s going for or why he knows he needs this, but he does. It takes him a minute to find it. He’s got it tucked away in his desk drawer, buried beneath old class work and notes. He grabs it, quickly and carefully and tucks it away in his pocket for safe keeping. Back in the living room he ties his shoes back on, grabs for his keys and books it.

He drives as fast as he can through the rain. As fast as he can because nothing else seems to matter. Nothing else in the world even exists. It’s just Nico.

 

 

Reyna lets him inside the apartment after barley one knock. She opens the door with a sharp, accusing glare, but Jason locks eyes with her and something clicks in her mind.

“Jason…” She warns, voice low but soft. She knows. She can see it on his face, in his posture, in his eyes. She knows. But she’s still careful. Her concern for Nico overpowers everything else.

“I know, If I hurt him again then you’ll kill me” He breaths, completley out of breath from the way he ran up here from the parking garage. His heart is beating so fast he swears it’s going to explode any second. His lungs burn, and his stomach is knotted. He feels sick to his core from the rush and he knows the only cure for this is just a few rooms away. “Trust me, If I ever hurt him, I’ll do your job for you” He admits. Reyna stares at him in shock for a second, before backing down. Letting Jason continue his path to Nico’s room uninterrupted.

He pushes open the door to Nico’s bedroom slowly, carefully, and shuts it behind him the exact same way. The room is dark, and cold. He can barely see, and the only sound he can hear his own heavy breath. For a second, he doesn’t even think Nico is in the room. Then he notices the way the blankets on the bed shift, and he realizes it’s Nico under there, curling in on himself.

He tiptoes across the room, each little calculated step the complete opposite of the way his heart pounds rapidly in his chest. He feels like he’s walking in one big glass terrarium. One so fragile that it will just shatter all around him if he even thinks about taking a wrong step.

He eventually makes it to the edge of the bed, his mind racing, a million thoughts trying to shove their way through for approval all at once and it’s too much, so he just stops. He takes a deep breath, ignores every last rational thought trying to guide him, and goes completley off of instinct.

“Nico?” He whispers, trying to lower his voice as much as possible, trying to find the right tone. The tone that will keep Nico from going on edge. He doesn’t receive a response, so he carefully pulls the blankets of the bed aside and starts to climb in behind him. He doesn’t understand this choice of action, but it feels right. Having Nico in his arms has always felt right, so that’s what he goes for.

“Nico? Can I hold you?” he asks permission, he always asks permission, even now. He never wants to make Nico uncomfortable. Never wants to touch Nico in a way that doesn’t make him happy. Nico gives just the slightest of nods, so quick and miniscule that Jason almost misses it. Almost. He scoots forward more, finding Nico beneath the covers to envelope him. He slots his body directly against Nico’s, his chest pressed firmly to Nico’s back, his arms wrapping around Nico’s waist, and he nuzzles his face into those messy black locks of hair that he loves so much. He leaves his grip on Nico a bit loses, giving him the space and opprotunity to break free if he needs or wants to. But judging by the way Nico shudders at Jason’s caress, he doubts the younger man will be running away anytime soon.

Jason sighs in relief at the instant feeling of contentment the contact gives him. He takes in a deep breath, lips brushing against Nico’s neck. It’s silent for a minute. Only the slight sound of them breathing and their hearts beating in unison while they both just savor the moment and try to figure out what to do now. Then, from nowhere, there’s a strangled noise that shocks Jason. A chocked gasp of breath from Nico’s throat as his body shudders violently. He’s sobbing. Jason realizes. Nico’s crying.

“Shhhh it’s okay, Nico. I am here. I am right here” Jason tries to whisper comforting, sweet words into Nico’s ear but it doesn’t seem to help.

“Please don’t cry, baby. I am right here, Neeks, I am right here. I am not going anywhere sweetheart. Look at me, come on, look at me Nicky.” He coos, gently trying to turn Nico in his arms so he can look at him. Really look at him for the first time in years.

Nico slowly turns until he’s staring up at Jason. Looking up at him with wide, wet eyes. His cheeks are stained with tears already and his lip quivers as she struggles to breath in-between his sobs. He looks at Jason with fear and pain and the oddest bit of hope and Jason swears he’s seen that exact look before.

“I am here, Nico” He whispers again, letting his hand gently travel up to Nico’s face to wipe away some of his tears.

“Do you-“Nico try’s to talk, but his voice breaks and he shivers under Jason’s touch, more tears come streaming out. “Do you remember?” Nico hesitates before reforming his question. He looks absolutley terrified as he forms the words. Some of Nico’s worst nightmares lie behind Jason’s possible answers.

“Not all of it” and in that second, he can see the hope in Nico’s eyes beginning to shatter so he rushes to salvage it.

“I remember that I love you” He blurts out, and he didn’t think it was possible, but Nico’s eyes grow wider. “I remember what you mean to me. I remember who you are to me. I remember who you are. I remember what matters. I don’t remember the details. I am really sorry, Nico. I can’t remember them yet. But I will. I know I will remember them with time. But for now…Nico, I love you” He whispers, trying to pull Nico closer to him but he doesn’t budge.

“You still love me?” He asks, voice uneven and shaking in disbelief, as if Jason loving him was some kind of impossible feat. It’s the other way around that’s impossible. It would be impossible for Jason not to love him.

“Of course, I do, Nicky” The name rolls off his tongue like it has thousands of times in the past, and it feels right and familiar in his voice. “You’re the love of my life, Nico. I will always, always love you” He confesses, and just as he does, something clicks in his head.

“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” He asks, and Nico finally looks away from him, lowering his head and eyes in embarrassment and shame. “Did you think I wouldn’t love you anymore?” He presses, and Nico just nods against his chest. Something about that. Something about knowing that the whole time, Nico believed Jason didn’t love him, that absolutley kills him on the inside.

“Oh Nico” He sighs, pulling his boyfriend closer to his chest. “How could you possibly think that there would ever be anyone out there for me that wasn’t you? I could never do anything but love you” Nico shakes his head and glances back up at Jason.

“You just… You looked so happy and peaceful and normal when we ran into eachother… and then Piper... it looked… and I just… I kept thinking about all the backlash you got before… you looked at me like a stranger… I just… I thought it would be easier for you…” It’s hard to understand Nico, his breath keeps getting caught in his throat, and he keeps stuttering, but Jason puts together what he can, and he rubs Nico’s back to try to calm him.

“I didn’t know you existed… Hera erased everything from before the car crash. Especially you. She made sure of that. Piper and I dated for a bit because Hera pushed it. It didn’t last very long because I knew it wasn’t right. No matter where I was, no matter what lies where fed to me, I knew there was someone out there for me. I knew something was missing from my life. The second that I saw you, I knew it had to bet you. I swore to I had to know you, but you didn’t act like it and that through me off” He admits, and Nico quickly looks away in guilt, so Jason continues.

“It felt like love at first sight. I mean, I wasn’t completley wrong. It was love, just wasn’t the first sight” He chuckles a bit, trying his hardest to lighten the mood some. “I spent every moment after that trying to figure you out. Nico, I love you. Nothing makes me happier then you. All the petty backlash means nothing to me. You’re worth it. Whatever it was before, I guarantee you were worth it. A life without you is one I never want to live again”

“Jason…” Nico whispers, his tears have slowly stopped and now he’s got so much more hope and love in his eyes then before. The pain is being mended, the fears are being chased away.

“and here I thought you’d be mad at me or hate me for keeping the truth from you…” Jason huffs, pressing his lips gently to Nico’s forehead.

“I could never hate you Nico. I am a bit hurt that you couldn’t tell me. I am hurt that it took this long to get you back. Hurt that you honestly think I wouldn’t still love you, but I understand that you we’re scared and confused and that’s okay.” Jason goes to press another kiss to Nico’s temple as a loving reassurance, but Nico suddenly surges forward, and pulls Jason’s lips onto his in a much needed and desired kiss.

“You really love me?” Nico asks as he pulls away, and Jason squeezes him a bit, a smile tugging up on his lips.

“Nico, I fell in love with you twice. You should never have to doubt my love for you ever again” Nico swings himself up a bit to settle over Jason, pushing their lips together in another tender kiss.

“You sure? I’ve caused you a lot of trouble” All of Nico’s fears and doubts have suddenly vanished, and only happiness sparkles in his eyes now as he teases Jason with more light kisses.

“Well it’s certainly been an interesting roller coaster, but you’re worth it” Jason teases back, cupping Nico’s face in his hands.

“You sure you’re not going to get tired of me?” He pokes and Jason grins like a mad man as the words connect in his brain.

“I’ll never get tired of you, Nico. I want to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life. As long as I have you, I’ll be content” he echoes, and Nico’s smile grows, and a happy laugh bubbles in his throat as he slams his lips to Jason’s again in a much rougher, more passionate kiss.

Jason’s hands trail from Nico’s face, down his back until they rest on his hips. Nico quietly moans into his mouth when Jason nips at his lower lip. The kiss is so much more heated and much needier then the gentle little kisses Nico was peppering him with just a few minutes ago. Jason quickly moves from Nico’s mouth, the need and impulse to feel Nico’s skin under his lips overwhelming him. He presses hot, opened mouth kisses all the way down Nico’s neck until he gets to the base of his shoulder, where he grazes his teeth over the skin just a bit too harshly, and Nico lets out a low moan.

Jason pulls away with a gasp and an excited ‘Oh!’ Nico stares at him in confusion for a second as Jason rummages for his pockets, which is a tad awkward with Nico on top of him, but he does find what he’s looking for.

“I think this is yours” Jason grins, as he places the little slip in Nico’s hand. Nico stares down at the photos in shock.

“The photobooth slip! I thought I lost this” He gasps, running his fingers gently over the edges of the phot paper.

“I found it on the floor the day we bumped into eachother. I stared at this thing for hours, but for some reason, I could never realize that was me. I kept meaning to give it back to you, but I just couldn’t part with it.” Nico smiles at the photo a bit, before looking back to Jason.

“I always loved these pictures, We’re not even facing the camera in most of them, but it’s just… You can see how much we love eachother. That’s why I kept it in my binder. To prove to myself that we really had that. That it wasn’t some fantasy. The love we had was real” He grins, and Jason sits up to press his body against Nico, twining his arms around his slim waist, as he presses yet another kiss to his lips.

“It Is real”

 

 

 

 

\------

 

 

“It is real” Jason corrects his word choice, and Nico feels his heart flutter for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. “I love you, Nico” Jason repeats the words again, and it still feels so unreal to Nico. But it is real. His skin burns everywhere that Jason touches him. His lips tingle from every kiss and his whole body just feels like he’s floating. He’s on cloud nine, right here, sitting in Jason’s lap, being held, and kissed. He’s in heaven.

“I love you too, Jason. I love you.” He gushes, pulling them together again, reveling in the way that Jason’s warmth completley envelopes him.

He feels absolutley ridiculous, and like a complete idiot for being so scared before. To think, this could have been resolved weeks ago. He and Jason could have been fully reunited months ago if he just had a bit of courage, and little more faith in his boyfriend. But he can’t care about that now. He can’t seem to care about anything but Jason smiling up at him, and the way Jason runs his hands up his spine and pulls Nico in to kiss him and the way he whispers his name and those words that Nico thought he would never hear again.

He’s decided that it’s okay that Jason doesn’t remember all the details yet. He knows he will remember them eventually. He remembered the day they confessed well enough. He knows it’s all still in there for Jason. He can feel it. Jason’s love is still obviously there, so somewhere deep down all the reasons must be there too. They can worry about the talking and the memories and all the details and problems and embarrassment later. They can figure out the old memories as they make new ones.

Right now. Nico is finally where he belongs. He’s finally in Jason’s arms again, being kissed by the man he loves again. For the first time in years, Nico again feels safe and content and happy and loved. He finally, finally feels like he really has Jason back again, and that’s all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after all the complicated mess that they went through, I decided to give in to the easiest, simplest, and fluffiest ending I could. Just cuddles and kisses and 'I love you' cause dammit they deserve it.   
> Fun Fact: I did have an idea for an angst ending idea , in which Jason gets in another crash on his way to Nico again, resulting in either him dyeing or losing his memory again, putting them in a little loop. But uhm, I am weak?? I couldnt do it. They deserved a happy, fluffy ending alright. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and the story as a whole. Please let me know what you think!   
> Also, I just want to add in that I am not giving up on this ship. I know it's kind of a rare pair and it's basically dead(oops. sorry. too soon) but I love it way to much to stop. So my other Jasico story, Thievery, will be going for a while, and I have another couple Jasico one shot aus that I might post here and there.   
> So uh, yeah. They lived happily ever after! The End!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr @ Gaythoughtsandfeelings  
> 


End file.
